Licensed, Unlicensed Interests Still at Odds on Key Band Ahead of WRC
They disagree on whether the U.S. should advocate for mobile use in the 7 GHz band.
WASHINGTON, March 9, 2026 – The mobile carriers and the cable industry are at odds on how the U.S. should approach one question at the World Radiocommunication Conference next year.
It concerns the 7.125-7.4 GigaHertz (GHz) band and whether it should be identified globally for licensed mobile use. The carriers and equipment manufacturers like Nokia and Ericsson want the U.S. to advocate for a licensed regime while the cable industry, along with Apple and Boeing, want to hold off on taking a position.
NCTA, which represents cable industry MVNOs Comcast and Charter, noted that the Commerce Department was currently studying the band for potential repurposing. It’s currently used by federal agencies.
“Taking a position now, before these studies have finished, would be premature and risk going against U.S. interests,” the group wrote in a filing led by general counsel Russ Hanser. “The ongoing studies will provide critical information about how to best protect national security missions and other essential public services that rely on this band and adjacent bands.”
Comments came in Friday and Monday on proposed WRC-27 positions put together by a Federal Communications Commission advisory committee. Industry stakeholders were not able to come to an agreement on the 7.125-7.4 GHz issue, part of agenda item 1.7, and the advisory committee submitted multiple views.
CTIA, which represents the wireless carriers, said the band was ideal for mobile deployments, and that tapping it for 5G and 6G early would allow the U.S. to shape global standards.
“The 7/8 GHz band represents a critical opportunity for American wireless leadership, offering globally harmonized mid-band spectrum ideally suited for high capacity 5G deployments and future innovation,” the group wrote in a filing led by VP of regulatory affairs Michael Mullinix. “First-mover countries are positioned at the center of new generations of hardware and software ecosystems and are empowered to shape technical standards and regulations for emerging technologies.”
Commerce’s National Telecommunications and Information Administration, which manages federal spectrum use, also submitted a proposal to the FCC. NTIA's proposed position said at least 7.125-7.4 GHz could support mobile use – 7.4-8.4 GHz is used by the U.S. military and is currently blocked from being auctioned by the FCC – as long as satellite services in the band were protected.
NCTA liked the agency’s focus on protecting other services, and CTIA said those protections were unnecessary but liked the position that the band should be allocated for mobile use. The White House released a memo in December saying it ultimately wants 7.125-7.4 GHz allocated for licensed mobile use.
NTIA’s tests on the band are set to be finished by September 2026. Delegates from the U.S. will meet with other countries in the eastern hemisphere this month to work on regional agreements ahead of WRC-27.
Many additional items up for consideration at WRC-27 deal with satellite spectrum, asking about potential new allocations for mobile-saltile service (MSS) and revised sharing rules, among other things.
Member discussion