South Africa has, for the first time, formally identified the entire upper 6GHz band for mobile networks, handing operators a potential 700MHz of prime mid-band spectrum and settling – at least directionally – a global tug of war between the cellular industry and Wi-Fi advocates over the most valuable unassigned frequencies in telecommunications.

The decision is contained in the National Radio Frequency Plan (NRFP) 2026, gazetted by communications regulator Icasa on 24 July following approval by communications minister Solly Malatsi on 2 July.

The plan, which replaces the 2021 edition, is South Africa’s master map of how radio frequency spectrum from 8.3kHz to 3THz may be used, and is updated every four years to align with the outcomes of the International Telecommunication Union’s World Radiocommunication Conference (WRC).

Buried in the plan’s allocation table and its national footnotes is the significant change: the upper 6GHz band, from 6.425GHz to 7.125GHz, is now identified for IMT – the ITU’s designation for mobile broadband technologies such as 5G and, in time, 6G. The band appears for the first time in the plan’s official list of IMT frequency bands for South Africa, alongside workhorse bands such as 1.8GHz, 2.1GHz and 3.5GHz.

An IMT identification is not the same as a reservation. Footnote 5.457E of the Radio Regulations, under which the band is identified, states that the identification does not preclude the use of the band by other applications and does not establish priority — and it names wireless access systems, including Wi-Fi, as a co-user of the same frequencies. No spectrum in the band has been assigned to anyone.

Icasa published a feasibility study on the band alongside the plan on 24 July, concluding that the considerations in favour of allocating it to IMT outweigh those against. Mobile operators argued in submissions that Wi-Fi cannot coexist with IMT in the band and should be kept out; the Wi-Fi Alliance and Dynamic Spectrum Alliance argued the opposite. That study is open for comment until 4 September, and it is there — not in the frequency plan — that the question of whether Wi-Fi is shut out of the upper 6GHz will ultimately be decided.

Wi-Fi’s consolation prize

The identification represents a significant win for South Africa’s mobile operators, which – along with the GSMA industry body globally – have lobbied hard for the upper 6GHz to be reserved for licensed mobile use, arguing the band is essential for 5G capacity growth and future 6G networks. It is a corresponding setback for the Wi-Fi industry and wireless internet service providers, which wanted the band opened for licence-exempt use as an extension of the spectrum already available to Wi-Fi.

Wi-Fi’s consolation, for now, is the lower 6GHz band. The plan confirms that 5.925GHz to 6.425GHz remains available for licence-exempt Wi-Fi following Icasa’s 2023 decision to open it – the move that enabled Wi-Fi 6E and Wi-Fi 7 in South Africa – and notes that regulations for dynamic spectrum access in the band are in progress, with an assignment plan for the lower band also planned. As TechCentral recently reported, actual use of 6GHz Wi-Fi in South Africa remains minimal, with just 0.2% of Wi-Fi connections running over the band in the first quarter of 2026.

Read: South Africa’s dynamic spectrum breakthrough

With the split, South Africa has planted its flag in an unresolved global debate. The US has given the entire 6GHz band to Wi-Fi; China has allocated the upper band to mobile and has opened none of the 6GHz range to Wi-Fi; and Europe’s Radio Spectrum Policy Group last year recommended 540MHz of the upper band go to mobile operators, with the remaining 160MHz frozen until WRC-27. South Africa’s approach – lower band to Wi-Fi, upper band to mobile – follows the European shape, though it goes further, identifying the full 700MHz for IMT rather than holding part of it back.

The upper 6GHz is not vacant, however. The band is used extensively for licensed point-to-point microwave links, including operator backhaul, and parts of it for satellite uplinks. Icasa’s feasibility study concludes that shared use with incumbent users is technically feasible, and indicates that not all fixed-service links would need to be migrated.

Broadcasters keep sub-700MHz

If mobile operators won the upper 6GHz fight, they made no ground at the other end of the dial. The plan keeps the 470-694MHz band – including the 600MHz frequencies that some countries are eyeing for mobile – allocated to digital terrestrial television broadcasting, alongside secondary uses including television white spaces and wireless microphones. The band does not appear in the plan’s IMT list, meaning South Africa’s broadcasters retain their sub-700MHz spectrum home for at least the four-year life of this plan. – © 2026 NewsCentral Media

This article was updated to clarify that the IMT identification does not preclude Wi-Fi use of the band, and to note Icasa’s feasibility study, open for comment until 4 September
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