Synopsis
US technology companies — including Apple, Amazon, Cisco, Meta, HP and Intel — have opposed Reliance Jio and Vodafone Idea’s push to allocate the 6 GHz spectrum band for mobile services, arguing that the entire band should instead be reserved for Wi-Fi use.
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Reuters US tech majors Apple, Amazon, Cisco, Meta, HP, and Intel Corporation have jointly opposed Reliance Jio and Vodafone Idea’s demand to allocate spectrum in the 6 gigahertz (GHz) band for mobile services.
The tech majors sought the entire 6GHz band to be allocated for wifi services instead.
In a joint response to telecom regulator Trai’s consultation paper for the next round of spectrum auction, the US technology giants have said the technical and commercial readiness in the 6 GHz band is not established for mobile services.
“We do not recommend setting timelines for any future auction of the 6425-6725 MHz and 7025-7125 MHz ranges for IMT. TRAI, together with the Department of Telecommunications, should review the allocation of the upper 6 GHz band following the outcomes of WRC-27, including Agenda Item 1.7 concerning 7.125-8.4 GHz,” the joint submission said.
The tech giants said any upper 6 GHz spectrum that would otherwise remain unused should be made available for unlicensed use in the interim.
The government has said 400 MHz of frequencies in 6 GHz are available for auction, 300 Mhz will be available by 2030 and 500 MHz will be delicensed for use by low power applications, meaning wifi services.
Reliance Jio has demanded that the entire 1200 MHz spectrum available in the 6 GHz should be included in the upcoming event even though the government has decided to delicense 500 MHz of lower frequency range in the band for low power or wifi applications.
The newly identified 6425-6725 MHz and 6725-7125 MHz bands form part of the upper 6 GHz band (6425-7125 MHz range).
The government has decided h
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