Apple, Amazon, Meta, Intel Ask TRAI to Exclude Upper 6 GHz Band from Auction

A group of large global tech firms, Apple, Amazon, Meta, Intel, Broadcom, Cisco and Hewlett Packard Enterprise have asked the telecom regulator not to include the upper 6 GHz band in India’s next spectrum auction, as per the news reports.  

They said frequencies in the 6425-6725 MHz and 7025-7125 MHz range are not ready for commercial mobile services and pushing them into the market now would not deliver any real use. 

Tests Show Weak Network Quality 

In their joint filing, the companies pointed to technical trials that showed weak network performance on these airwaves. The concerns mainly relate to uplink capacity and indoor coverage, both of which have a direct impact on how users access data inside homes, offices or public spaces. They said these problems remain unresolved and could leave this spectrum unused for a long time if auctioned early. 

Example from Hong Kong’s Auction 

They referred to Hong Kong, which recently became the first market to auction the upper 6 GHz band. The response there was limited, with low bidding interest and even unsold blocks. Hutchison chose not to bid at all and said that mobile services on these frequencies currently have no strong use case and operators already have enough spectrum. 

Push for Unlicensed Access 

The companies suggested that the band could instead be opened for unlicensed use. Countries like the US, Canada, South Korea and Saudi Arabia already allow full-band access for Wi-Fi technologies such as Wi-Fi 6E and Wi-Fi 7. Europe, the UK, Australia and Japan are moving in the same direction. Millions of devices using 6 GHz Wi-Fi in the US operate without reported interference to broadcasters. 

Wait for WRC-27 Before Taking a Call 

They recommended that TRAI and the Department of Telecommunications wait until discussions at WRC-27 are completed, since these will address rules for the broader 6-8 GHz range. Until then, they said that the upper 6 GHz spectrum could support broadband expansion and local networks if opened for unlicensed access. 

Read More: Foxconn Plans $1-5 Billion US Expansion, Partners with OpenAI on AI Server Design! 

Conclusion 

The submission indicates that delaying auctions for the upper 6 GHz band could help India avoid idle spectrum and make decisions after the global framework becomes clearer. 

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