Ofcom introduces new licence: ‘Spectrum Access: EHF’
In January this year, Ofcom published proposals for increasing terrestrial access to three spectrum bands in the 100-200 GHz range (116-122 GHz, 174.8-182 GHz and 185-190 GHz), currently used by Earth Exploration Satellite Services. This was followed by a further consultation in May covering the technical analysis. Ofcom has set out its decision to introduce the new licence which can be applied for through Ofcom’s website, from today.
Potential new services that could make use of this spectrum include health screening applications (e.g. for early detection of skin cancer), very high speed/high capacity data links over short distances (supporting use of 3D imaging, holograms and future IoT applications), and high precision product assembly and quality assurance (e.g. to check for defects in manufactured pharmaceuticals).
In June 2020, the 6G Flagship published 11 new white papers exploring possible future uses of frequencies above 100 GHz as part of local, interconnected systems and system management. These include backhaul links for fast, reliable networks and sensing, localisation and imaging applications, due to the fine resolution achievable in all physical dimensions using these frequencies.
