The National Telecommunications and Information Administration thinks of 6G as “beyond 5G.” However, NTIA Acting Administrator Evelyn Remaley said Wednesday “even as we begin to think about the groundwork for 6G, our focus remains on 5G.” She spoke during the tenth annual Americas Spectrum Management Conference.
“We’ve been working with the FCC to ensure the wireless industry has the spectrum it needs,” she said. Referring to the Commission’s current auction of flexible use licenses in the 3.45 GHz band, Remaley noted that NTIA helped craft that event.
“We are committed to exploring the use of advanced technology to ensure we’re getting the most out of spectrum resources,” she added, noting that researchers are looking at the 6G frequency range, seeing the potential of the U.S. government using it to get more weather data and more granular information on the health of the American population. “Even as commercial deployment isn’t expected for several years, as companies align and form strategies for 6G development, innovation means advances for all spectrum users,” Remaley stressed.
She noted that President Joe Biden’s budget calls for advancements in wireless research. An NTIA test site will focus initially on mid-band spectrum sharing, she explained. NTIA seeks to study how to use advancements such as Artificial Intelligence and machine-based learning to use spectrum more efficiently. Hoping the concept can be applied across bands, “we’d want every agency that we work with in federal government to take advantage of,” the technology, she summed up.
By Leslie Stimson, Inside Towers Washington Bureau Chief
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