Future Spectrum and WRC

Future Spectrum – For the Benefit of Billions

Spectrum can help close the digital divide and secure the building blocks for future mobile services. As mobile broadband connections increase and users consume more content, data traffic will rise. Delivering industrial connectivity, IoT, and private mobile networks will require spectrum capacity.

The speed and quality of mobile are directly linked to spectrum, and the mobile networks of tomorrow require action on spectrum today. Governments and the mobile industry must work together towards international harmonisation, including the ITU World Radiocommunication Conferences (WRC) process, to ensure that new generations of mobile users are served. This harmonisation will create a virtuous circle of fast, sustainable, and affordable networks delivered to more people.

Increasing harmonised spectrum capacity, whether at WRCs or through regional processes, will lead to better services delivered from less dense, less costly networks. More consumers can use 5G, and fewer base stations also mean lower carbon emissions. However, if governments cannot reach an agreement, harmonisation will be lost, reducing the potential for ecosystem scale.

Harmonised future spectrum capacity will help provide more mobile services to more people, lowering the usage gap and connecting the unconnected.