6GHz Spectrum: Benefits, Challenges, and Opportunities

Challenges to overcome

While 6GHz provides huge benefits for FWA providers and other WISPs, they must address and overcome several technological and practical barriers to take full advantage of the opportunities.

Anticipating 6GHz interference

Because the 6GHz band is still new, the spectrum is relatively unused, so most operators experience little congestion or interference. However, now that the band is open to fixed wireless access providers (Link to: Fixed Wireless Access Companies Compared when published), the increase in operators will expand traffic rapidly in that formerly easy-flowing current.

This inevitable escalation forces more users into fewer “lanes,” or available frequencies, which are expected to be unreliable because the AFC doesn’t prevent interference from other unlicensed operators – it only considers licensed incumbent operators when determining available frequencies. In addition, the expected proliferation of Wi-Fi 6E technology in the coming years will increase the number of radios on the spectrum and create even more interference and congestion.

Spectrum availability challenges

Actually achieving the gigabit speeds promised by 6GHz broadband requires the availability of at least 160MHz of spectrum per connection. The Automated Frequency Coordination (AFC) system determines the available frequencies based on channel usage by licensed operators (such as fixed satellites and radio astronomers) and only allows unlicensed operators to use the remaining channels.

For much of America (especially in rural areas), according to recent research from Tarana Wireless, the difficulty lies in balancing the number of operators and channels. Only 30% of rural areas have enough 160MHz channels to support multiple operators, or there are just too many operators in general, and sometimes there are no 160MHz channels at all. Limited 160 MHz channel availability prevents fixed wireless providers from delivering gigabit broadband speeds and increases congestion on the network, reducing performance and reliability.

Technological limitations of fixed-wireless products

Wi-Fi-based fixed wireless products fail to solve the current and predicted problems that FWA providers face when operating on the 6GHz band. They typically require at least two 160MHz channels to provide gigabit speeds and full coverage, although many areas of the US only have one 160MHz channel available. More competitive locations may require up to four channels for full coverage (the maximum 160MHz channels in the 6GHz spectrum). These products also provide limited protection against interference from other unlicensed operators and fail to deliver the speed and performance required by subscribers.

Exploring opportunities on the 6GHz spectrum

Despite these challenges, fixed wireless operators can still achieve the speed and performance the 6GHz spectrum promises if they choose the right technology solutions. For example, the next-generation fixed wireless access (ngFWA) G1 platform from Tarana Wireless helps service providers maximize 160 MHz channel availability while minimizing interference. Tarana’s 6GHz base nodes (BNs) and remote nodes (RNs) support the use of four independent, discontiguous 40 MHz carriers to provide a 160MHz channel. According to Tarana research, 76% of rural areas have enough 40 MHz channels to support two operators in the same market, which means delivering gigabit performance is almost guaranteed when using the G1 platform.