ACMA releases its draft 5 Year spectrum outlook

ACMA lays out draft plan for future of Australian airwaves

The Australian Communications and Media Authority (ACMA) today laid out its draft plan for the management of Australia’s spectrum – the wireless communications frequencies that carry mobile data, satellite transmissions and broadcast signals.

The draft Five-year spectrum outlook 2024–29 (FYSO) which is available at this Link canvasses a range of potential use cases, including increasing the spectrum available for 5G wireless broadband as well as new satellite technologies, both supporting greater network coverage and connectivity.

ACMA authority member and spectrum lead Adam Suckling said the ACMA was now calling on stakeholders to give their thoughts on the draft plan to help shape the future of Australia’s digital communications over the next five years.
“Spectrum management isn’t discussed a lot in Australia but it plays an enormous role in our everyday lives,” Mr Suckling said.

“Without knowing it, each and every day Australians use spectrum for everything from watching TV to using their mobiles and accessing the internet. Spectrum also supports the most critical infrastructure that drives business and our national economy, so it’s incredibly important we consult as widely as possible on its future use.”

The draft FYSO also looks at potential future use of the upper 6 GHz frequency band.

“Internationally, the upper 6 GHz band is growing in importance for both 5G as well as the next generation of Wi-Fi technology, with strong and divergent views on the best use of the band. Accordingly, we are moving to the preliminary planning stage in order to come to a decision on the future use of this band.

“We are also now implementing our approach to the 1.9GHz band so that various uses of the band can coexist. For example, that will mean rail services and major entertainment events can have access to this band at the same time. Performers at large concerts can use wireless microphones without the risk of interfering with the next generation of railway communications used by the trains bringing fans to the venue.

“The ACMA will also complete its program of allocations of important 3.4-4.0 GHz spectrum, which have been designed to accommodate a range of users and use cases. Applications for area-wide licences in the 3.8 GHz band of this spectrum will open shortly.

“Spectrum licences in this band allow organisations to build their own private communications networks to support their business needs,” Mr Suckling said.

“We have already seen an uptake of private networks by the construction and mining sectors and are starting to see other sectors showing an interest as well, such as agriculture, transport and utilities businesses.

“We anticipate this trend will continue, with increasing demand for private networks using 5G technology.”

The ACMA has published the draft FYSO on its website with consultation submissions closing COB 22 April 2024.

Page Last Updated: Tuesday, 26 Mar 2024 at 10:26 hours by Peter Clee

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