News & insights

Regulators and governments around the world are opening up mmWave spectrum to further develop 5G mobile services. Ofcom in the UK has confirmed its intention to make mmWave spectrum available for mobile use by 2024 and is minded to award licences through a combination of auctioned citywide licences, and local first come, first served Shared Access licences.

In this note we look at market developments in mmWave bands across the world and describe some of the licence award approaches. While some have speculated innovative services might promote new interest in mmWave spectrum, demand for frequencies in most countries has largely come from established mobile operators.