Spectrum

The role of the Radiocommunication Sector is to ensure the rational, equitable, efficient and economical use of the radio- frequency spectrum by all radiocommunication services.

• The tests confirm the importance of the 6 GHz band, considered the last opportunity for spectrum in mid-bands to deliver the mobile services of the future, offering high capacity and coverage comparable to the one offered by the 3.5 GHz band thanks to innovations such as Nokia's active antenna solutions.
• The pilot was carried out at

The Dynamic Spectrum Alliance (DSA) and the Wi-Fi Alliance have stepped up their efforts to convince European lawmakers to reserve the upper 6 GHz band for unlicensed use.

• The UK’s three MNOs spent a total of £39m in Ofcom’s mmWave spectrum auction
• VMO2 tested 5G SA on mmWave in September 2025, while Vodafone completed tests in 2024
• But the dearth of mmWave-capable devices in Europe is seen as a key bottleneck to service launches

T

• Operators around the world have launched fixed wireless access (FWA) broadband services
• 5G FWA is fuelling market growth
• ABI Research expects there to be about 233 million FWA connections worldwide by 2030, driving significant operator revenues

Driven in particul

A new network test conducted by Vodafone hopes to persuade European lawmakers to reserve the upper 6 GHz band for mobile.

The UK-based telco took a smartphone equipped with an off-the-shelf MediaTek M90 modem and – using 200 MHz of 6-GHz spectrum and carrier aggregation – managed to achieve a peak downlink speed of 2.5 Gbps.

Virgin Media O2 has switched on a “first-of-its-kind” Giga Site in Paddington, London, utilising the newly acquired spectrum from Vodafone.

The Federated Telecoms Hubs (FTH) are inviting industry representatives - including investors, SMEs, and large enterprises - to take part in their first industry survey. 

AT&T has agreed to spend US$23 billion on a raft of spectrum assets from troubled mobile challenger EchoStar, a move that will among other things lead to the latter decommissioning parts of its much-hyped radio network.

Virgin Media O2 (VMO2)'s mobile network is on course for an upgrade thanks to a bunch of frequencies it has agreed to acquire from newly-merged VodafoneThree.

In return for a £343 million outlay, VMO2 will receive 78.8 MHz of spectrum spanning multiple bands:

• Telcos and Wi-Fi providers are lobbying European regulators over the upper 6 GHz band
• The EU’s Radio Spectrum Policy Group is consulting on the matter
• A draft opinion has been published, but a final opinion may still be months away

The discussion about whether to

Ericsson has announced the launch of two high-performance antennas designed for mission-critical applications such as public safety and disaster relief.

DySPAN 2025, the premier international conference on spectrum innovation, was held in London from May 12th to 16th at King’s College London.

DySPAN 2025, the premier international conference on spectrum innovation, was held in London from May 12th to 16th at King’s College London.

• The UK universities of Bristol and Cambridge have been collaborating on quantum-safe networking developments
• They have achieved live, quantum-secure transfer of encrypted medical data, secure remote access to a distributed datacentre and the world’s first long-distance quantum secured video call.

Join IEEE DySPAN 2025: Shaping the Future of Spectrum Innovation
 

Samsung and South Korean operator KT Corporation have signed a memorandum of understanding (MOU) to jointly research and develop tech aimed at improving 6G signal quality.

UK operator group Virgin Media O2 says it will spend £700 million on upgrading and extending its mobile network this year alone.

VMO2 explained it will spend the cash on new masts, small cells and 4G and 5G upgrades, as well as rolling out new spectrum and increasing automation in its networks.

As the Future Network Programmes conclude, UKTIN is working with DSIT to reflect on the government-funded projects, outlining the key outcomes and the lessons learned to help improve future telecoms initiatives. 

Not so long ago, the term used to describe how spectrum was divvied up was “beauty contest.” However, things have moved on since the days of pageantry. 

Where technology, policy and commerce converge

Vodafone, Qualcomm and Ericsson say they have successfully demonstrated the benefits of 5G mmWave via two trials in the UK.

The trials used Ericsson’s AIR (antenna-integrated radio) 5322 and Baseband 6651 technology, as well as various devices powered by the Snapdragon X65 5G Modem-RF System.