The age of 5G has ushered in tremendous growth and opportunity across the communications landscape. As technology advances enable higher speeds and lower latency, innovative new use cases drive ever greater demand for connectivity.

Although the possibilities for new use cases are nearly unlimited, radio frequency (RF) spectrum is not. This scarcity will worsen as more mobile devices and users share the limited spectrum.

Unlimited Data Everywhere

In the past five years alone, total mobile network traffic has grown nearly 130 percent, as consumers and businesses alike rely more and more on ubiquitous smartphones and connected mobile devices. With almost half of this network traffic carrying video, significant spectrum resources are dedicated to meeting the need for capacity across mobile and fixed wireless networks. This demand will only escalate in the future as mobile network operators (MNOs) continue to offer unlimited data plans to subscribers in order to compete in the challenging telecoms market.

Of course, in the age of the Internet of Things (IoT), it’s not just a matter of how many people are using mobile network capacity but also how many interconnected IoT devices. A growing number of enterprises and manufacturers are finding that IoT connectivity is ideally suited for enhancing productivity and efficiency with predictive maintenance, smart manufacturing, and data analytics. In fact, it’s estimated that the number of connected IoT devices worldwide will reach 40 billion by 2030. That is a staggering number of devices that will all need reliable, 24×7 connectivity.

Crowding the Field

In an effort to ensure sufficient speed and bandwidth availability for all this demand, the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) has continued to auction spectrum licenses. Most recently, during the past few years, the focus has been on 5G mid-band frequencies, including the 3.45 and 3.7 GHz C-Band spectrum.

Yet, with the high cost of spectrum licenses, interest in alternative unlicensed spectrum options is increasing. As a result, we are seeing a particular focus on the Citizens Broadband Radio Service (CBRS) band, which is quite attractive to enterprises that want to deploy private networks. Likewise, emerging Wi-Fi 7 networks also offer connectivity options for short-range, specialized IoT applications.

With the insatiable demand for data everywhere, however, we inevitably will need even more spectrum. But where will we find it?

Priming the Pipeline

Early in 2024, two U.S. Senators introduced legislation known as the Spectrum Pipeline Act of 2024 to expand commercial access to additional mid-band spectrum. This proposed bill would compel the FCC to auction at least 600 megahertz of spectrum between 1.3 and 13.2 GHz within three years and at least 1,250 megahertz of spectrum within six years. Moreover, this bill also would direct the National Telecommunications and Information Administration (NTIA) to reallocate at least 2,500 megahertz of mid-band spectrum from federal use to commercial wireless services.

Yet, freeing up the mid-band spectrum allocated to the federal government could be particularly challenging. That’s because the ‘sweet spot’ for telecoms networks seems to be the lower 3 GHz band, which is currently occupied by the Department of Defense (DoD). It’s possible that the DoD might be willing to share the spectrum similar to the way in which the CBRS band is shared; however, encouraging the agency to completely vacate part of that band could be a time-intensive and costly proposition.

Similarly, the NTIA also released plans to commission studies to identify bands that could be repurposed from federal to commercial use. However, the agency’s implementation plans present an eight-year timeline to complete these studies, which does not appear to offer much hope for alleviating any near-term capacity constraints.

Interestingly, AT&T submitted a proposal to the FCC to move the CBRS band from its current 3.55-3.7 GHz spectrum to the 3.1-3.3 GHz portion of the 3 GHz band, claiming that the CBRS band is under-utilized. This proposed move would then allow the FCC to auction the 3.5-3.7 mid-band spectrum for licensed, full-power use. To date, this idea has not gained much traction. 

A Matter of Security

In the meantime, U.S. House and Senate Armed Services Committee members recently introduced the National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) as part of the fiscal 2025 defense budget. This legislation includes an additional $3 billion in funding for the ongoing rip-and-replace program that targets China-sourced communications technology under the Secure and Trusted Communications Networks Act of 2019.

The defense bill would allow the FCC to borrow the $3 billion from the U.S. Treasury with the caveat that the agency would repay the loan with proceeds from a one-time spectrum auction to be initiated within 18 months. This proposed auction would offer licenses for the advanced wireless service spectrum known as AWS-3, covering the 1695-1710 MHz, 1755-1780, and 2155-2180 MHz bands.

Chart a Path Forward

Ultimately, all the noise and speculation around future spectrum availability just serves to emphasize the crucial importance of reliable coverage, ensuring connectivity to support today’s hyper-connected lifestyle. In order to piece together sufficient spectrum to meet mobile device and IoT connectivity needs for the foreseeable future, we will need to take a strategic and holistic approach that delivers a robust balance of licensed, shared, and unlicensed spectrum.

Importantly, we also need to ensure that mobile device coverage and capacity are available when and where needed, including throughout buildings and across private campus properties. With the modular SOLiD ALLIANCE 5G DAS platform, enterprises, venues, and building owners can deliver robust in-building 5G capacity and seamless coverage supporting all the major MNOs, with easy upgrades that avoid rip and replace scenarios, preserving their investment when new spectrum becomes available. To learn more about selecting the right in-building mobile coverage solution, visit https://solid.com/us/in-building-wireless-solutions-the-complete-guide/