The United States government proposed to the Inter-American Telecommunications Commission (Seatel) to identify the 3,300 to 3,400 MHz band for the development of 5G services in the Americas region.
Through its State Department, the Joe Biden government sent its proposal to Seatel, which will be discussed at a meeting next week (May 21-26) in Mexico City.
If the initiative is accepted as a regional proposal, the Inter-American Telecommunications Commission will represent it at the World Radio Communications Conference (WRC-23) to be held in Dubai, United Arab Emirates in November this year.
If the WRC-23 adopts this idea, the next step would be to revise the radio regulations to include the identification of the 3.3 to 3.4 GHz spectrum for the implementation of 5G technology in the US. However, it is up to each country to decide whether or not to assign that band to fifth generation networks.
The United States’ proposal is based on its interest in freeing up more spectrum in the medium band for the development of 5G networks. Also, protect critical operations and capabilities that use this band.
A portion in the midband is used by the Department of Defense for classified and unclassified activities, so the government is concerned about their security. In this sense, the proposal sent to Sitel includes ideas on how to avoid any interference with existing government systems.
On the other hand, the Department of Defense and the National Telecommunications and Information Administration pointed out that the initiative forwarded to Seatel does not harm the results of a US Congressional study examining the feasibility of widespread lower 3 GHz band or sharing. His recommendations on home use of the band.
Since December 2019, the Federal Communications Commission has also explored and proposed splitting the 3.1 to 3.55 GHz range for 5G implementation in the United States: this would affect the coexistence of defense operations and commercial wireless operations. However, the analysis has not been easy and has taken many years.
