New America Urges Wider View of Wireless Convergence, 'Balanced' Spectrum Policies

Communications Daily covered a recent report from Wireless Future on connectivity gaps that 6G policy and plans should prioritize.

Convergent connectivity should guarantee that information and services are “accessible to everyone, everywhere” and foster inclusivity, the report argued. Networks today “fall far short of this goal” and subject consumers to rural coverage gaps, urban “not-spots,” weak or sometimes nonexistent indoor mobile signals, and “enormous friction and frustration when smartphones and other devices must manually authenticate to Wi-Fi and other location-based networks as they move around throughout the day.”

The report also advocated for “a balanced spectrum policy” with wide bands of “quality” spectrum for unlicensed, exclusively licensed and lightly licensed shared use. It stressed the importance of measuring and mapping mobile signals both indoors and outdoors and urged the creation of more community networks and open public hot spots.