Upper mid-band (7-24 GHz): WRC-23 decisions, IMT identification

WRC-23 Upper Mid-Band Decisions

The World Radiocommunication Conference 2023 (WRC-23) made landmark decisions on upper mid-band spectrum for IMT. Agenda item 1.2 identified new bands in the 4.8-4.99 GHz, 6.425-7.125 GHz, and 7.125-8.5 GHz ranges for IMT in various regions. The upper mid-band (7-24 GHz) is considered the sweet spot for 6G, offering a balance between the wide coverage of sub-6 GHz and the high capacity of mmWave. These bands provide channel bandwidths of 200-400 MHz, enabling multi-Gbps throughput with reasonable propagation characteristics for both indoor and outdoor deployment.