Unlicensed Access to the 6 GHz Band to Add Billions to the Mexican and Colombian Economies

By CIOReview | Tuesday, February 16, 2021

Unlicensed access to the 6 GHz band is expected to add US$150.27 billion to the Mexican economy and up to US$58.93 billion to the Colombian economy from 2021 to 2030.

FREMONT, CA: As per the studies published by the Dynamic Spectrum Alliance (DSA) and Telecom Advisory Services LLC (TAS), the Colombian and Mexican economies could benefit over the next ten years if they continue to allow unlicensed access to the 5925-7125 MHz band. The two latest studies, known as "Assessing the economic value of unlicensed use in the 6 GHz band in Mexico" and "Assessing the economic value of unlicensed use in the 6 GHz band in Colombia", were performed by Dr. Raul Katz and Fernando Callorda, top scholars of economics and telecommunications policy. The studies follow the DSA and TAS findings that unlicensed 6 GHz access would add $163.5 billion to Brazil's economy.

The economic benefit of unlicensed usage of the band in Mexico and Colombia was measured in the two new studies by evaluating the effect on the quality of service, coverage, availability, and the impact on different applications and use cases. The approach used in this study defined the various sources of economic value, independently measured them, and then collated them into a single value. Its results revealed a substantial early economic impact following the allocation for unlicensed use of 1,200 MHz in the 6 GHz band.

Many of the value sources include expanded broadband coverage and improved affordability, increased speed by minimizing Wi-Fi congestion, enhanced municipal Wi-Fi deployment, and Free Wi-Fi Hotspots integration that offer Internet connectivity for households that are unable to buy a broadband plan. While ensuring that current incumbent services can continue to succeed in the band because Wi-Fi 6E, the latest generation of Wi-Fi that operates in the 6 GHz band, can coexist with incumbents.

"License-exempt use of the entire 6 GHz band for Wi-Fi will be critical to address current pressing bandwidth demands for end users, new applications and industries," said Martha Suarez, President of the DSA. "The different use case operations from 5925 to 7125 MHz will allow growing ultra-fast Wi-Fi demands to be met, new applications such as Augmented and Virtual Reality and new innovations that require high-quality, real-time connectivity. Used for every aspect in our lives such as remote education, work and commerce, Wi-Fi needs greater spectrum access in the 6 GHz band to effectively support the modern digital ecosystem."