Statement: Expanding access to the 6 GHz band for commercial mobile and Wi-Fi services

Statement published 20 July 2026

This Statement sets out the decisions we are taking following the January 2026 consultation on enabling Wi-Fi and mobile in the Upper 6 GHz band.

We have decided to implement our proposals for a prioritised spectrum sharing framework in the Upper 6 GHz band comprising:

• a Wi-Fi priority portion in the lower 160 MHz of the band (6425–6585 MHz); and
• a mobile priority portion in the upper 540 MHz of the band (6585–7125 MHz).  

Within this framework:  

• We are making the Wi-Fi priority portion of the band available on the same licence exempt basis as the Lower 6 GHz band. This includes low power indoor use and very low power use. Outdoor and higher power use is also permitted, but only where devices operate under the control of an Automated Frequency Coordination (AFC) system.
• We are also allowing licence exempt Wi-Fi access to the mobile priority portion – but only for those devices under the control of an AFC system. This will enable Wi-Fi use of the full 6 GHz band while ensuring that such use can be managed as mobile deployment occurs. 
  

Draft regulations to licence exempt Wi-Fi use of 6425-6585 and Interface Requirements  

We are also consulting on draft regulations and updated Interface Requirement (IR 2030) to implement the Wi-Fi priority decision above and extend existing Wi-Fi use from 5925-6425 MHz to also include 6425-6585 MHz. 

Draft IR 2030 Licence Exempt Short Range Devices (U6) 
Consultation - Notice of proposed regulations 

To respond to this consultation, please use the response form.

Statement and further consultation published 9 January 2026

This Statement sets out the decisions we are taking following the February 2025 consultation, along with additional proposals for our next steps regarding authorisation of Wi-Fi and mobile in Upper 6 GHz. This includes our decision to allow outdoor and higher power Wi-Fi in Lower 6 GHz, using AFC systems; and a proposal to extend AFC systems to include use of the Upper 6 GHz band.

Consultation: Enabling automated frequency coordination (AFC) in the 6 GHz band

Consultation published 13 February 2025

Upper 6 GHz (6425–7125 MHz) has been identified for use by both Wi-Fi and mobile services. Today we have published a consultation to authorise both services to use the band through sharing. We are also consulting on authorising standard power Wi-Fi to use Lower 6 GHz (5925–6425 MHz) using an AFC database, including outdoors, if there is sufficient interest from industry. 

In May 2024, we published our vision for the Upper 6 GHz band, stating that we want to see sharing between mobile and Wi-Fi to unlock the maximum possible benefits of the band to all band users. As we work with international partners to push for harmonised standards of this, we are proposing to introduce low-power, indoor Wi-Fi into the band as early as is feasible - ideally by the end of 2025. We are further proposing to introduce mobile into the band later, once European harmonisation is more mature. We will introduce sharing mechanisms to facilitate coexistence between both services. We believe that this phased approach will maximise the benefits to citizens and consumers, allowing Wi-Fi to seed the market with devices capable of using Upper 6 GHz, and providing greater certainty to both services.

We also are seeking input on industry demand for authorising standard-power Wi-Fi (including outdoor use) using an AFC database, which we believe should help meet demand for outdoor use-cases such as stadiums.