The Global System for Mobile Communications Association has warned that delays in decisions on the 6GHz spectrum band are stalling critical mobile network infrastructure investment as the world moves from 5G towards 6G.
The GSMA Director-General, Vivek Badrinath, gave the warning in a statement on Monday, September 7, 2026, urging governments and regulators to promptly allocate the upper 6GHz band for full-power mobile services to enable operators to expand network capacity and meet rising data demand.
The 6GHz band provides additional capacity for wireless communications, with the upper portion covering 6.425GHz to 7.125GHz.
Badrinath said certainty over spectrum allocation was crucial for operators planning major network investments.
“Timely, pro-investment spectrum decisions are needed to give operators the certainty to invest, to help countries deliver their national digital ambitions,” he said.
He said global mobile data traffic continued to surge, making additional mid-band spectrum increasingly important for the development of future networks.
According to him, the mobile industry is ready to deploy services using the upper 6GHz band at scale.
“The message from the mobile ecosystem is clear: we are ready to put the upper 6GHz spectrum to work for consumers and businesses around the world,” Badrinath said.
He urged governments to turn the international harmonisation of the band into improved connectivity by prioritising it for full-power mobile deployment.
Badrinath warned that prolonged delays could disrupt operators’ investment plans and slow the expansion of network capacity required to meet future demand.
He said pro-investment spectrum policies would enable countries to achieve their digital ambitions while promoting efficient and inclusive mobile development.
The GSMA chief disclosed that countries representing more than 80 per cent of the global population now supported mobile use of the upper 6GHz band.
He said the band was harmonised for mobile use at the 2023 World Radiocommunication Conference, allowing it to be incorporated into national spectrum roadmaps in several markets.
The development, he added, was creating the scale needed for a strong global ecosystem involving mobile devices, chipsets and network equipment.
Badrinath disclosed that more than 60 mobile operators, device manufacturers, chipset makers and network equipment providers had joined the industry’s push for deployment.
He said some countries had already completed their first assignments of the upper 6GHz spectrum, with further allocations expected across major regions.
He identified Europe, the Middle East and Africa, Asia-Pacific and the Americas as regions where additional assignments were expected as demand increased.
Badrinath called on governments and regulators to include the entire upper 6GHz band in clear and forward-looking national spectrum roadmaps.
He also urged policymakers to make the band available for full-power macro-cell mobile services.
According to him, macro-cell networks could deploy the upper 6GHz spectrum to provide valuable city-wide capacity.
He said this would help operators manage increasing data traffic while supporting the evolution of 5G-Advanced.
Badrinath maintained that the spectrum would also be critical to the eventual deployment of 6G networks.
He explained that 6G networks were expected to require channel bandwidths of between 200MHz and 400MHz, underscoring the strategic importance of the upper 6GHz band.
“Upper 6GHz represents one of the most important opportunities to secure the capacity needed for the next-generation of mobile networks, creating a clear path from 5G-Advanced to 6G,” he said.
The GSMA boss said spectrum assignments should be timely and market-driven, with balanced conditions capable of encouraging operators to invest.
He said such an approach would promote efficient spectrum use while supporting connectivity, innovation and economic growth.
Badrinath said the international framework for the upper 6GHz band was already in place and the mobile ecosystem was prepared for deployment.
He urged national policymakers to act promptly, warning that their decisions would determine whether the spectrum became a cornerstone of sustainable mobile connectivity in the years ahead.
