Telecoms split on ISED’s proposed approach to opening 6 GHz band

The federal government’s proposal to open up the 6 GHz spectrum band for WiFi use has received broad support in an Industry, Science and Economic Development Canada consultation. Every telecommunications company to respond to the consultation supported ISED’s proposal to some degree, on the basis that it would facilitate the rollout of high-speed broadband across Canada. According to a submission from Shaw Communications Inc., opening this spectrum would streamline Canadians’ internet use, allowing greater volumes of data to flow with fewer hiccups from cluttered segments of spectrum. “The existing 2.4 and 5 GHz unlicensed bands are becoming congested, and there have been no significant releases of unlicensed spectrum in Canada for over 15 years,” wrote Shaw. “This will drive our digital economy forward and allow Canadian consumers to benefit from improved affordability and performance.” However, telecommunications companies were divided on the question of whether the entire 1200 MHz of the band or just a segment of it should be opened up for license-exempt use. BCE Inc., Rogers Communications Inc., Telus Corp., and Quebecor Inc. all argued that ISED should move to quickly open up the 5925 to 6425 MHz bands for unlicensed use, but that the government should hold off on releasing the upper 700 MHz, to protect currently-licensed users of the 6 GHz band. “The optimal 6 GHz policy for Canada is a measured and phased approach that allows Canadians to access the benefits from new licence-exempt services while ensuring ample protection for licensed incumbents,” Rogers wrote. Pointing to heightened internet usage during the pandemic, Rogers also claimed that there’s no need to rush on opening up the entire 6 GHz band. “No evidence provided supports that 1200 MHz of mid-band spectrum is actually needed for actual licence-exempt demand well into the next decade.” For its part, Telus suggested that without exclusive rights to spectrum segments, telecoms’ services could also be negatively affected. “To scale network operation and maintain quality of service, having exclusive use spectrum is of utmost importance. With unlicensed operation, operators cannot guarantee predictable service quality.” Other companies, including Shaw, Cogeco Inc., and Teksavvy Solutions Inc., advocated for the entire band to be opened for license-exempt use. They were joined by a number of other companies — a joint reply from companies including Apple Inc., Facebook Inc., Microsoft Corp., and Alphabet Inc.’s Google (among others) took the same stance. “Releasing the full band now will also promote competition and accessibility in rural and remote areas of Canada,” wrote Shaw in its submission. “In these areas, the business case for wireless expansion is often challenging, and unlicensed technologies such as Wi-Fi present a simple and cost-effective way to help extend connectivity.” Addressing the concerns about current 6 GHz licensees being impacted, Cogeco’s response noted that unlicensed use of the spectrum would only extend to relatively low-power devices (such as wireless routers), meaning that fears about current license holders being impacted may be exaggerated. “The 6 GHz band is of sufficient width to permit the radiated energy from unlicensed devices to be spread throughout the band, thereby mitigating interference concerns with existing license-holders.” That stance was backed up by joint submission of Facebook, Microsoft, and others, noting that “licence-exempt devices can coexist with incumbents throughout the band”. Cogeco also noted that in the U.S., the FCC has already authorized unlicensed use of the entire 6 GHz spectrum. Canadian organizations like CNOC and CanWISP joined in to criticize the larger telecoms — CanWISP wrote that the go-slow approach to the 6 GHz spectrum would “create artificial and unnecessary spectrum scarcity”, while CNOC suggested that the incumbents might have ulterior motives. “We consider the arguments of large incumbent mobile wireless operators to retain a preference for spectrum licensing and exclusivity to be self-serving, and based solely on outcomes that buttress their market dominance.” — Reporting by Tim Forster at tforster@thewirereport.ca and editing by Michael Lee-Murphy at mleemurphy@thewirereport.ca

Telecoms split on ISED’s proposed approach to opening 6 GHz band

News | March 2, 2021

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Telecoms split on ISED’s proposed approach to opening 6 GHz band

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