Ofcom says the new spectrum would provide a large increase in capacity for both mobile and Wi-Fi services, which could fill the needs of data-hungry technologies, such as VR, AR, and AI.

"Sharing the band should provide greater overall benefits to the UK, helping both services cope with the increase in traffic volumes, and create further opportunities for innovation, growth and investment," Ofcom says in its announcement.

"Under the proposals, mobile and Wi-Fi technology would need to integrate better in the future, for example with mechanisms where Wi-Fi would ‘sense’ the presence of a mobile network and react, leading to better services overall."

Ofcom has proposed that the upper part of the band (6425-7125 MHz) spectrum be shared between providers of commercial mobile and Wi-Fi services, implementing indoor low power Wi-Fi before end of 2025, and mobile by 2027, subject to discussions in Europe.

"European harmonisation would see sharing of 6 GHz by mobile and Wi-Fi across the continent, and will help manufacturers, operators, and users have the confidence to invest in equipment and services for the band, which we are keen to encourage," says Ofcom.

For the lower part of the 6 GHz band (5925-6425 MHz), Ofcom proposes to allow outdoor and higher power Wi-Fi to operate under the control of an automated database to protect other users from interference.

"At present, Wi-Fi in this band is limited to low power indoor use only," Ofcom says.

"This change would help bring advanced, high-quality Wi-Fi to university campuses, hospitals, railway stations, industrial complexes and sports stadiums, as well as typical broadband services to rural customers."

In Australia, the lower part of the 6GHz band is reserved for WiFi while the upper part is reserved for mobile.

The Ofcom proposals in detail can be found here.