Weekly Wrap: Mid-band spectrum availability in the US is similar to China

This week, we published a new research note for our Research Service subscribers. It compares how much mid-band spectrum China, the US, France, the UK and Germany have assigned to mobile network operators (MNOs).

The results show that the UK leads the way with 942.6 MHz of mid band spectrum assigned to its mobile operators. The UK is followed by Germany (878.8 MHz), China (835 MHz), the US (791.3 MHz) and France (748.4 MHz).

What’s more surprising is how little difference there is between China and the US. The US mobile industry association CTIA has long been claiming that the country is lagging behind China when it comes to mid-band spectrum. The organisation has claimed that China has allocated 3.2 times more mid-band spectrum than the US. 

This message has made it all the way to FCC Commissioner Brendan Carr, who recently wrote that America is “falling behind China” on mid-band spectrum availability. 

Our data shows that while strictly speaking, China is ahead, the difference is minor. China has made just 42.7 MHz more spectrum available, around 5% more than the US.

Why is our conclusion so different? The main reason is that the CTIA opted to define mid-band as 3 GHz and above. This unusual definition excludes large spectrum holdings in the 2.6 GHz band and the AWS bands.

Additionally, the CTIA chose to include various spectrum bands that aren’t comparable and which inflate China’s numbers. For example, the body includes the lower 6 GHz band. While this band can technically be used by 5G in China, it’s a dedicated private network band, and is not comparable with nationwide full-power licences.

The CTIA also includes 100 MHz of spectrum in the 3.3 – 3.8 GHz band in China, which is assigned for indoor use only and is shared among operators. Finally, the CTIA also includes the upper 6 GHz band in China, which adds a further 700 MHz to China’s mid-band holdings. However, this band has not yet been assigned to mobile operators in the country. It has only been allocated (i.e. earmarked) for mobile, with an assignment still pending.

Although our analysis shows that the gap between China and the US is not as large as the CTIA claims, China has indeed made marginally more mid-band spectrum available for MNOs than the US. And this gap will widen once the country assigns the upper 6 GHz band. Yet policymakers should be aware that the reality of mid-band spectrum availability is more nuanced than the US mobile industry claims.

• Mid-band spectrum comparison: How do China, the US, France, the UK and Germany match up?