Push to Protect and Expand Wi-Fi Spectrum Intensifies as Usage Soars, Experts Say
Wi-Fi's economic value in the U.S. alone is projected to reach $1.2 trillion by 2027.
WASHINGTON, May 6, 2025 — Industry leaders emphasized the urgency of protecting existing spectrum allocations while securing additional bands for future growth, during Wednesday’s Broadband Breakfast Live Online.
The panel, titled "Accelerating US Leadership in Wi-Fi," examined the role of wireless technology continues in American connectivity, with Wi-Fi now carrying between 82-89% of data usage on smartphones, according to Opensignal, a research consultancy.
"Wi-Fi is absolutely exploding," said Mary Brown, Executive Director of WifiForward, since the 6 GigaHertz (GHz) band was opened by the Federal Communications Commission for Wi-Fi access in 2020. "We will have 95 million devices in [6 GHz] as of the end of 2024 and by the end of 2029, 367 million devices will be in that band, just in the U.S." Brown noted, citing research from ABI Research.
Mary Brown
Brown noted that, according to WifiForward’s economic study, Wi-Fi's economic value in the U.S. alone is projected to reach $1.2 trillion by 2027. The surge in adoption is driving demands for wider channels in the 7 GHz band to support increasingly data-hungry applications, she said.
Wi-Fi dominates wireless traffic
"Mobile phone users spend the overwhelming majority of their time on Wi-Fi and consume the overwhelming majority of data over Wi-Fi versus cellular," said Micah Sachs, vice president of global broadband products and market insights at Opensignal.
The upcoming Wi-Fi 7 standard promises theoretical speeds of 40 Gbps (compared to Wi-Fi 6's 9.6 Gbps) and introduces multi-link operation across frequency bands, addressing reliability and latency demands for next-generation applications.
Josh Baggett, head of global spectrum policy for Hewlett Packard Enterprise Aruba networking, emphasized Wi-Fi's role as "an American technology that we should be deploying" and shared that enterprise-level 6 GHz deployments have seen a "three times take rate" with "39% more data going over 6 GHz devices in our networks now than a year ago."
"The world's regulators look at what the U.S. FCC and Congress are saying. It's something that we battle on a global stage," he said.
Policy movement on spectrum
Panelists said that Congressional action on spectrum policy is expected in the next one to three months, with a Senate compromise expected by the July 4 recess.
Restoring auction authority would allow new licensed‑spectrum sales to wireless carriers, generating billions in deficit savings. But Brown said legislators must also guarantee unlicensed access in those areas where "Wi-Fi is already active and growing, in particular the 6 GHz band."
Baggett also highlighted Wi-Fi 7's importance for enterprise applications, particularly in venues like stadiums where "standard power" deployments enable seamless connectivity from parking lots to inside facilities.
Many Wi-Fi 7 features like multi-link operation allow packets to be sent across 2.4, 5 and 6 GHz bands, determining "which is the best path, the quickest path, the most reliable path for that data to get to the endpoint," which "will increase reliability, decrease latency, and make for a better quality of service."
"What we do with spectrum policy, making sure we have spectrum for Wi-Fi and that we are looking at expanding it over time, makes a huge difference," Brown said.
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Mary Brown
