Major US technology companies including Amazon, Apple, Broadcom, Cisco, Meta, HPE, and Intel, have opposed Reliance Jio and Vodafone Idea Limited’s (Vi) call to allocate the upper 6GHz band for mobile (IMT) services. Instead, they have urged the government to reserve the entire 6GHz band for Wi-Fi.
The tech firms also said they do not support setting timelines for auctioning the 6425-6725 MHz and 7025-7125 MHz segments for IMT. They added that any upper-6GHz spectrum likely to go unused should be opened temporarily for unlicensed use.
The government has previously stated that 400MHz in the 6GHz band is available for auction, another 300MHz will free up by 2030, and 500MHz will be delicensed for low-power Wi-Fi applications. Jio wants the full 1200MHz in the band included in the next auction, arguing it should be sold in a technology-neutral manner for IMT, including future 6G use. Vi has sought the 400MHz that is currently available for sale. Meanwhile, Bharti Airtel has asked the government to delay the auction of the 6425-6725 MHz and 7025-7125 MHz bands, citing limited device and network readiness. Additionally, the Cellular Operators Association of India has opposed any delicensing in the band, saying it would permanently restrict future mobile broadband capacity.
By contrast, the coalition of US tech firms has urged TRAI to allow licence-exempt access in the lower 6GHz band (5925-6425 MHz) and consider extending unlicensed use to parts of the upper 6GHz band to support Wi-Fi 7 and future standards.
