Allocation of 6 GHz Essential to Ensure China’s Wi-Fi Industry and Its Competitiveness

Countries in the western hemisphere (such as the United States, United Kingdom, Chile, and Brazil) are making the 6 GHz band available for unlicensed Wi-Fi usage. Brazil is the latest country to make steps into allocation of the 1.2 GHz for Wi-Fi usage with the Anatel representatives voting 5-to-0 in favor of releasing the new rules for public consultation. Chile’s regulator (Subtel) has released the full band for Wi-Fi. This is the same trajectory as what happened in the United States and to certain degree in the United Kingdom, which is more modest in allocation. As regulators globally pick up pace in approving and considering 6 GHz for Wi-Fi, it indicates a positive development for Wi-Fi 6E and its industry. ABI Research forecasted that worldwide Wi-Fi 6E chipset shipments will reach about 1.4 billion shipment units by 2025, a CAGR of 113% from 2020. In addition, 6 GHz will be fundamental for Wi-Fi 7’s features, such as the 320 MHz channel width, for example.

While the western hemisphere bubbles with activity around 6 GHz for Wi-Fi, the eastern hemisphere has been relatively quiet. The only Asian country to allocate the 6 GHz for Wi-Fi is South Korea back in October of 2020. How about one of the most prominent country in the region, China, with its more than 900 million internet users as of June 2020, what activities are brewing within China?

For any communication technology, especially in the case of Wi-Fi, there is a need for a universal allocation of spectrum band or at least similarity in the spectrum allocation arrangement. While industry news has it that China’s authority is in the midst of a feasibility study on the usage of the entire 6 GHz for Wi-Fi, we can also recall that China is looking at the 6 GHz band for 5G usage. During discussions at the World Radiocommunication Conference 2019 (WRC-19), China actively supported the use of the 6 GHz band for 5G, with a decision expected to be made at WRC-23.

Perhaps it is important to consider first why and what 6 GHz brings. The additional 6 GHz band will provide higher throughput, more capacity, greater reliability, lower latency, and improved service, solving many Wi-Fi challenges. While legacy devices will not be able to use it, it also points to fewer devices jamming up the channel for access. One of the advantages of allocating the 6 GHz for Wi-Fi is summarized by the FCC’s comment: “FCC envisions new innovative technologies and services that will deliver new devices and applications.” The 6 GHz spectrum will expand and enhance the existing Wi-Fi 6 over the 5 GHz band through the non-overlapping channels.

Aside from the benefits that come with the additional 6 GHz band, there is another important consideration. Missing out on implementing 6 GHz for Wi-Fi will also create challenges not only for consumers but also the device vendors of Wi-Fi. Missing out also implies that Wi-Fi 6E will not be usable in countries where the 6 GHz has not been allocated. Given the momentum with countries, including Europe, looking at the 6 GHz for Wi-Fi, it will be beneficial to ensure consistency globally. 

Yes, China should consider allocating the 6 GHz band, be it in partial as per the European style or full allocation. While the capability of 5G should not be doubted in terms of what it can achieve, such as in mission-critical and time-sensitive use cases, there certainly will be areas where Wi-Fi is the economical choice for consumers and enterprises. It does not necessarily have to be a zero-sum game where the unlicensed Wi-Fi and 5G are seen locking horns. This has been greatly discussed in another ABI Insight. There is no one-size-fits-all in terms of the spectrum allocation; ABI Research believes that merging cellular and Wi-Fi has some interplay that allows operators to provide the best QoS at the given time where it is most optimal to utilize either. For operators, tapping on the ability of an enhanced Wi-Fi, such as Wi-Fi 6/6E/7, could be the most economical way to bring 5G-class services. This will provide flexibility for operators to optimize their network and services for their customers.

Why should China’s regulators allocate the 6 GHz band for Wi-Fi besides just considering the benefit that 6 GHz brings for consumers and users? There are at least three main rationales for the allocation:

• Although still early in its first draft, Wi-Fi 7 or 802.11be has features that will likely require the 6 GHz band. This includes a few main candidate features such as the 320 MHz bandwidth and more efficient utilization of non-contiguous spectrum and multi-band/multi-channel aggregation and operation (between the 2.4 GHz/5 GHz and 6 GHz). Not having any allocation in 6 GHz for Wi-Fi would mean that in the future many of these features and upgrades from Wi-Fi might not be applicable. As such, there will be increasing reliance on other protocols to replace the service and coverage areas where Wi-Fi 6E or 7 could have been with lower overall cost.  

• Consider the technological and industry development of the domestic Wi-Fi industry. In the scenario where no allocation is done, it implies missing out on a huge local market, which will not be beneficial for the domestic Wi-Fi chipset vendors because they will need to compete in the overseas market with less competitiveness, missing out on the benefits from economies of scale and revenue from having a domestic market that they could leverage on. This reduced competitiveness will have implications in the amount of market share and thus revenue and funding for research and development, thereby hindering the technological development of the industry. Chinese device OEMs will also have an increased dependence on international Wi-Fi chipset vendors because they will be unable to find a domestic chipset that is as competitive and advanced as that available internationally. For example, the Xiaomi Mi 11 flagship smartphone is equipped with the Qualcomm Snapdragon 888, which has Wi-Fi 6E capability. This will have further implications on the domestic industry as international chipset vendors will continue to maintain their competitive advantage over the domestic chipset vendors.

• Expect a slowdown in the technological development of domestic vendors where more efforts and funding are taken up to ensure survival. As the advantage of proximity to market is lost, the domestic chipset vendors will have to compete overseas where they are likely to have a lower level of competitiveness due to cost, location, or supply chain. Therefore, having 6 GHz allocation for Wi-Fi will help to ensure the continuity of technological development of the local Wi-Fi chipset vendors as well as satisfying self-sufficiency in Wi-Fi chipset productions.

Allocating the 6 GHz for unlicensed Wi-Fi usage will ensure global usability for consumers and accrue benefits from the improvement in Wi-Fi in complementing 5G. What is more critical is the impact of keeping in tandem with the global standard discussed above. It allows the domestic Wi-Fi players to further develop their capabilities and competitiveness globally. Should it not be allocated, given how Wi-Fi 7 will be built on Wi-Fi 6, the Wi-Fi industry in China will face challenges in development and, for China, its competitiveness and self-sufficiency. These considerations are also applicable for any country looking at 6 GHz allocation—isolation from global development will not be beneficial.