Twelve of the continent’s largest operator groups urged regulators to allocate more spectrum for mobile services or risk trailing the US in 6G deployments
European operators are concerned that regulators in the European Union might not make enough spectrum available for 6G. As most European nations auctioned airwaves in the 3.4–3.8GHz range for initial 5G deployments, the operators say the upper 6GHz band is one of the few remaining large blocks of mid-band spectrum available.
The EU’s Radio Spectrum Policy Group is expected to issue a draft opinion for public consultation on the 6GHz band in June. This will include advice to the European Commission about the future use of upper 6GHz.
This upper 6GHz spectrum is suitable for networks that handle massive amounts of data while also providing reasonable coverage. For this reason, the US opened this band for Wi-Fi use in 2020 and China allocated it for 5G and 6G services in 2023.
Fears of too little too late
In the open letter to EU regulators, the operators wrote, “If the decision to make the upper 6GHz band available to European mobile operators is delayed, while U.S. technology interests are permitted to secure further 6GHz capacity, Europe’s competitiveness would be threatened”. They added, “We remain concerned that access to upper 6GHz band is still sought for Wi-Fi by U.S. stakeholders.”
The operators also pointed out that the current spectrum allocation would not be enough to support existing 5G services and 6G deployment because of rising mobile traffic.
“Without the full availability of the upper 6GHz for mobile networks, any future 6G services in this band would be significantly curtailed and ultimately jeopardise Europe’s opportunity to play a leading role in 6G deployment,” they warn.
Europe is already lagging other regions of the world with 5G deployments.
Here’s the full text and signatories
Essential Action for Europe’s Mobile Future
The European Telecom operators, signatories of this letter, are committed to support Europe’s global technology leadership by developing and investing in infrastructure, provided the necessary spectrum resources are made available, and ask for essential action to secure mobile digital connectivity future in Europe.
- As leading European Telecom operators, we urge Europe to make available the complete upper 6 GHz band for mobile for the benefit of Europe’s economy and society.
- The upper 6 GHz band is a critical opportunity for launching 6G in Europe and should be an integral part of Europe’s future mobile infrastructure.
Europe’s future economic competitiveness and sovereignty depend on fast, reliable and secure digital connectivity. It underpins our civil society, our industry and businesses, and our efforts to meet climate targets.
European Telecom operators remain committed to developing and investing for the future, delivering the connectivity that supports Europe’s mobile users, economic objectives, productivity and jobs.
The decisions and the strategic approach that Europe takes now on the upper 6 GHz band will have profound and long-lasting implications on the ability of Europe’s telecoms sector to enable that future.
With escalating demands on current spectrum capacity and with future services including 6G on the horizon, it is critical that the entirety of the upper 6 GHz band (6.425-7.125 GHz) is made available to mobile networks.
Mobile alone is expected to contribute to 8.4% of global GDP by 20301
1 The Mobile Economy 2025, GSMA . Without access to the upper 6 GHz, mobile’s impact on GDP growth will be curtailed significantly.
6 GHz is expected to play a significant role in supporting the deployment of next generation 6G services in Europe. The whole of the upper 6 GHz band would be required for even the first 6G implementations in Europe.
We remain concerned that access to upper 6 GHz band is still sought for Wi-Fi by US stakeholders, despite the recent availability of a new but widely unused block of 480 MHz in the lower 6 GHz band, expressly reserved for this purpose. Telecom operators are the primary providers of Wi-Fi services to European consumers and enterprises, and we do not perceive any current or future Wi-Fi spectrum shortfall.
If the decision to make the upper 6 GHz band available to European mobile operators is delayed, while US technology interests are permitted to secure further 6 GHz capacity, Europe’s competitiveness would be threatened. This would stifle the future economic 7 May 2025
potential of European business and society and ultimately erode Europe’s influence over its own digital future and global competitiveness.
Enrico Letta made this clear in his recent report Much More than a Market that 5G and 6G development in Europe is strategically important, highlighting the crucial role of the upper 6 GHz band.
With mobile radio technology in the 6 GHz band designed to operate with 200 MHz carriers, provisioning less than 600 MHz for IMT will prevent networks to operate efficiently and maximise service benefits. Without the full availability of the upper 6 GHz for mobile networks, any future 6G services in this band would be significantly curtailed and ultimately jeopardise Europe’s opportunity to play a leading role in 6G deployment. It would also fragment the global ecosystem for 6G, leaving Europe unable to benefit from economies of scale.
At the same time, mobile network traffic continues to grow year on year. European operators project that the urban mobile networks used by citizens and enterprises will reach saturation levels by 20302
2 See Connect Europe (former ETNO), GSMA, Telefónica and Vodafone Group responses to RSPG questionnaire on long-term vision for the upper 6 GHz band. . With current traffic growth projections, existing mobile spectrum will be needed to sustain 5G services and would not be available to launch 6G.
The Radio Spectrum Policy Group (RSPG) 6G Vision Report outlines its intention to recommend frequency bands to the European Commission to enable the launch of 6G.
There are two possibilities:
- Finding new spectrum for mobile at the 2027 World Radiocommunication Conference (WRC-27) in e.g. the 7-8 GHz band.
- Using the upper 6 GHz band for 6G launch in Europe.
The RSPG has already acknowledged the challenges of new mobile spectrum at WRC-27 in Europe: “due to European strategic usages, CEPT opposed at WRC-23 to study frequency bands listed in WRC-27 AI 1.7 except 7125-7250 MHz. This position and European strategic usages that remain valid will impact any future positions to be developed for WRC-27.”
In light of these challenges, using the full upper 6 GHz band for full-power macro-cell mobile deployments is the only way that Europe can ensure its digital connectivity going into the 2030s.
7 May 2025
Alexander Kuchar, Group Chief Technology Officer, A1 Telekom Austria Group
Howard Watson, Chief Security and Networks Officer, BT Group
Abdurazak Mudesir, Group Chief Technology Officer, DTAG
Wouter Stammeijer, Chief Operating Officer, KPN
Sami Komulainen, Executive Vice president Production, Elisa
Laurent Leboucher, Chief Technology Officer, Orange
Geert Standaert, Chief Technology Officer, Proximus
Andrea Folgueiras, Chief Technology & Information Officer, Telefonica S.A.
Alexandra Fürst, Sr. Vice President, Chief Technology & Information Officer, Telia Company
Leonardo Capdeville, Chief Technology Officer, TIM
Željko Batistić, VP Technology of the United Group
Alberto Ripepi, Chief Network Officer, Vodafone Group
