British telecoms regulator Ofcom has begun consulting on a new approach under which both Wi-Fi and mobile internet users could access spectrum in the 6GHz band. According to the watchdog, its ‘hybrid sharing’ approach has the potential to help support growing demand for mobile broadband connectivity.

With regards to achieving its objectives, Ofcom has said it proposes to: identify appropriate hybrid sharing mechanisms to facilitate coexistence between licensed mobile, Wi-Fi and, where appropriate, existing users of the band; encourage the development of technology-based coexistence solutions such as managed databases and enhanced dynamic sensing; and continue pressing for international harmonisation of hybrid sharing of the band to enable economies of scale for equipment.

Comments have been invited by a deadline of 15 September 2023, with Ofcom saying it expects to publish a summary of responses ‘in the autumn of 2023’, ahead of following up with a further consultation on specific proposals for the implementation of hybrid sharing in the upper 6GHz band in 2024.