November 12, 2025
A dispute is heating up in Europe over the future of the 6 GHz wireless band, with two powerful industry groups pushing in opposite directions — one arguing it should stay open for Wi-Fi, the other calling for exclusive use by mobile networks.
The Wi-Fi Alliance and the Dynamic Spectrum Alliance (DSA) have written to European digital ministers warning that the upper 6 GHz band — from 6425 to 7125 MHz — could soon be off-limits to Wi-Fi. They argue this would undermine the next generation of Wi-Fi standards such as Wi-Fi 6E and Wi-Fi 7, which depend on the full band to deliver higher speeds and lower latency.
The European Commission’s Radio Spectrum Policy Group (RSPG) is studying whether the upper 6 GHz band can be shared between licence-exempt Wi-Fi and licensed mobile services. The lower half of the band is already unlicensed, and the U.K. regulator Ofcom has adopted a similar approach.
Wi-Fi advocates fear that Germany’s government may have shifted its position to back exclusive mobile use, potentially swaying the EU-wide decision. A spokesperson for Germany’s Federal Ministry for Digital and Transport told *Heise Online* that future 6G applications would require greater access to the band than Wi-Fi.
The DSA countered that limiting Wi-Fi would hurt innovation and consumer access. “Blocking Wi-Fi access to the upper 6 GHz band would be devastating to the future of Wi-Fi technology in Europe,” the group said, calling the spectrum “uniquely positioned to sustain the evolution of the Wi-Fi ecosystem.” Its members include Amazon, Apple, Meta, Microsoft, Broadcom, and Cisco.
Mobile operators and equipment makers such as Vodafone, Nokia, and Telia see things differently. They have tested 6 GHz frequencies and reported download speeds of up to 5 Gbps, claiming the band could add “massive capacity” for 6G networks in urban and rural areas. Their position is backed by the International Telecommunication Union, which allocated the upper 6 GHz band for mobile use at the 2023 World Radio Conference.
By contrast, the United States’ Federal Communications Commission reserved the entire 6 GHz band for Wi-Fi and other unlicensed uses in 2020, leaving Europe to decide its own path. The RSPG’s next plenary meeting on November 12 is expected to discuss possible sharing arrangements, with a final harmonization plan due in July 2027.
