Carriers and ACMA face off over 6G spectrum as first phones near 2030
Telstra, Optus and TPG Telecom say they each need 200MHz to start 6G in 2029, while the ACMA has put up to 515MHz on the table. Regional coverage, satellite reliance and vendor security are also in dispute.
Handsets for 6G are expected around 2030, yet the contest over the airwaves that will carry them has already begun in Australia. The ACMA and the federal government have to settle how much spectrum each carrier gets, the price, and whether regional areas end up relying on offshore satellites. Consumer group ACAN said those choices will influence Australian connectivity well into the 2040s.
Telstra, Optus and TPG Telecom each say a 200-megahertz block is needed for a competitive 6G launch from 2029, which adds up to 600MHz. The regulator has reserved up to 515MHz, so at least one carrier would begin with a smaller share. Luke Coleman, chief executive of the Australian Telecommunications Alliance, wants that band bundled with the adjacent lower 7GHz band and auctioned once. A consultation paper from the ACMA on licensing the band is due by the end of 2026.
An independent report commissioned by the ACMA put the cost of the three carriers retaining their current spectrum at about $6.8 billion over six years. Telsyte analyst Alvin Lee said that bill will weigh on 6G investment, and TPG's Giovanni Chiarelli said each dollar spent on spectrum is a dollar not spent building networks.
The carriers say 5G taught them lessons. Optus chief technology officer Sri Amirthalingam said the biggest one is that "customers don't adopt a new technology because the industry gives it a new number". The main benefit the carriers point to for 6G is capacity in crowded places such as stadiums and train stations.
For regional Australia, the industry's proposal is the 600MHz band now used by free-to-air TV, whose signals travel further and penetrate buildings more easily. The federal government is consulting on the future of free-to-air TV until 26 November. ACAN chief executive Carol Bennett said, "Left to commercial logic, the cities will be served first, and regional Australia will be waiting again, just as it was with 5G," and added that the ACMA renewed existing licences with no coverage requirements.
Telstra and Optus have both struck satellite-to-phone deals with Starlink, though Amirthalingam cautioned that much of that infrastructure is beyond Australian control. Elon Musk said in late October that SpaceX curbed Ukraine's Starlink service because the military used it for drone strikes, a claim Ukrainian officials dispute. The 6G standard is also contested, with Finland's foreign ministry technology unit head Aki Enkenberg calling it "China versus the rest". Australia barred Huawei and ZTE from 5G in 2018.