GSMA has expressed concerns over India’s intervention regarding the 6 GHz spectrum band during the ongoing World Radiocommunication Conference (WRC-23). The industry body has requested Ashwini Vaishnaw, Union Minister of Communications, Electronics and Information Technology and Railways, to direct the Indian delegation to support the mid-band for international mobile telecommunications (IMT) or mobility usage.
In a letter to Vaishnaw, Mats Granryd, director general, GSMA, said that India’s interventions on this issue thus far at WRC-23 do not reflect the technical work already done globally to support the use of the band for IMT and could negatively impact progress in expanding mobile capacity. He added that as per studies, India will require more mid-band spectrum to continue its strong start to 5G and WRC-23 is an opportunity for the Department of Telecommunications (DoT) to take positive steps in that regard.
GSMA further said in the letter that the 6 GHz band is the only large contiguous block of mid-band spectrum that can deliver affordable 5G services and provide an opportunity to build a spectrum roadmap going into 2030. It will be very challenging for India to achieve 2 GHz of mid-band spectrum without the 6 GHz band.
