Vodafone's world-first 6GHz spectrum test positions Europe to lead in advanced 5G and 6G

Allocating the upper 6GHz spectrum band for 5G and 6G would give European citizens among the fastest mobile connectivity in the world, a new network test by Vodafone revealed.

Last month in Hannover, Germany, Vodafone successfully completed the world’s first network test of 6GHz spectrum using a commercially available chipset – the MediaTek M90 Modem – within a standard smartphone operating with 200MHz bandwidth. Vodafone’s engineers achieved record downlink data speeds of 2.5 Gbps (the equivalent of simultaneously supporting 500 smart glasses viewing videos) over the mobile network by using 5G carrier aggregation, a technology that combines multiple radio frequencies on a single link. This is faster than today's average 5G network speeds.

Greater data throughput

The tests also showed that a 200MHz channel at 6GHz delivered up to 2 times more mobile data throughput than a 100MHz channel, in various indoor and outdoor areas. Notably, these tests used the same amount of power, demonstrating that the use of larger bandwidth channels can enhance network capacity without sacrificing energy efficiency.

As customers increasingly upload files, photos and videos to social media and AI platforms, Vodafone also conducted uplink tests that recorded speeds ranging from 50 Mbps to 180 Mbps. These results were achieved using 200MHz of bandwidth in public indoor locations, even when most radio resources were allocated to downlink transmission.

40% capacity cost improvement

Using 200MHz channels can lower capacity costs, helping operators meet rising mobile demand for applications that use both down and up links. Vodafone estimates these channels offer over 40% cost improvement compared to 100MHz channels due to radio efficiencies.

Allocating the upper 6GHz band for mobile use will avert a capacity crunch in Europe as bandwidth demand increases. Devices and services such as AI-based applications for smart glasses and other wearables, connected cars and personal agents, all require mobile networks with greater processing power and capacity. Future critical services—including smart transport, remote healthcare, and climate management—depend on robust wide area networks and may be at risk without sufficient bandwidth.

Since the lower 6GHz band is already allocated to WiFi and remains mostly unused, European regulators can protect essential services like smart transport, remote healthcare, energy efficiency, and climate management by resisting further spectrum allocation for WiFi.

6G Evolution

The latest test of 6GHz using a 200 MHz channel comes at a time when Europe is positioning itself for the digital future. Evolving global standards for 6G, led by industry body 3GPP, are targeting improved spectrum and energy efficiency, as well as the introduction of new software features from 2030 over channels of at least 200MHz. This is double the maximum 100MHz channel size originally specified for 5G.

A recent letter from 12 leading European mobile operators, including Vodafone, highlights full availability of the upper 6GHz band is critically needed to allow 200MHz deployments for evolving 5G and launching 6G, while addressing future network congestion. The Radio Spectrum Policy Group, which advises the European Commission, will soon issue its final opinion on the long-term use of this band, a decision that could shape Europe's digital transformation.