FCC has unanimously voted to open up four bands of high-band spectrum for 5G use.

Dan Jones, Mobile Editor

July 14, 2016

2 Min Read
Ready, Set, Go! FCC Votes for First 5G Spectrum

The FCC has unanimously voted to open up four bands of high-band spectrum for 5G use, as well as pledging to open up more millimeter (mmWave) bands as soon as possible.

On Thursday, the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) , as expected, voted to open up nearly 11GHz of spectrum -- 3.85GHz of licensed spectrum and 7GHz of unlicensed bandwidth -- for mobile and fixed-wireless 5G uses. As Light Reading previously reported in June, the new "Upper Microwave Flexible Use" bands are the licensed 28GHz; 37GHz; 39Ghz; and an unlicensed, public band between 64GHz and 71GHz.

The FCC says that this makes the "United States the first country in the world to make this spectrum available for next-generation wireless services."

5G is the next-generation wireless technology intended to deliver data-over-the air at speeds up to 100 times faster than today's 4G networks. This means that a full movie could be downloaded in mere seconds over the air. These mmWave upper bands are expected to be a crucial building block for 5G services. All of the major mobile operators in the US are undertaking mmWave trials this year, although Sprint Corp. (NYSE: S) is going to use its 2.5GHz for its planned initial 5G networks.

For all the latest news on 5G, visit the dedicated 5G site here on Light Reading.

The surprise from Thursday's vote is that only 7GHz was opened up for the public band, which is still a huge chunk of spectrum, but less than the "massive" 14GHz channel that the FCC chairman was originally talking about.

Nonetheless, the FCC says it will move to open up more upper-band spectrum for 5G. The Commission adopted a "Further Notice of Proposed Rulemaking," which seeks to apply the flexible use service and technical rules adopted Thursday to another 18GHz of spectrum spread across eight additional high-frequency bands.

The Commission will also need to start looking into auction options for the initial three licensed 5G bands agreed on today.

For more on this topic, see:

— Dan Jones, Mobile Editor, Light Reading

About the Author(s)

Dan Jones

Mobile Editor

Dan is to hats what Will.I.Am is to ridiculous eyewear. Fedora, trilby, tam-o-shanter -- all have graced the Jones pate during his career as the go-to purveyor of mobile essentials.

But hey, Dan is so much more than 4G maps and state-of-the-art headgear. Before joining the Light Reading team in 2002 he was an award-winning cult hit on Broadway (with four 'Toni' awards, two 'Emma' gongs and a 'Brian' to his name) with his one-man show, "Dan Sings the Show Tunes."

His perfectly crafted blogs, falling under the "Jonestown" banner, have been compared to the works of Chekhov. But only by Dan.

He lives in Brooklyn with cats.

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