As we enter the final quarter of 2025, spectrum policy remains a key focus for government and industry leaders. Recent remarks from National Telecommunications and Information Administration (NTIA) Administrator Arielle Roth and National Economic Council (NEC) Deputy Director Robin Colwell highlight the critical role unlicensed spectrum, specifically Wi-Fi, plays in our national security and economy.
An American Success Story
At this year’s NTIA Spectrum Policy Symposium, Administrator Arielle Roth highlighted that Wi-Fi is an American-born innovation and continues to drive connectivity worldwide. “Born in America, led by America, Wi-Fi remains an area where we dominate, and we must continue to invest in this important technology. With Wi-Fi, the race has already been won.”
And she’s exactly right. Here are the facts across the United States:
- 80-90% of all mobile device traffic is carried by Wi-Fi
- Wi-Fi’s economic value will reach $2.4 trillion by 2027
- By 2027, Wi-Fi will create 13 million jobs
Administrator Roth also warned about adversarial countries seeking to undercut the U.S., pointing out, “China knows it can’t compete, and for that reason, looks for ways to sabotage the ingenuity that made Wi-Fi a global standard.” On a similar note, Deputy Director Colwell outlined the importance of America’s leadership at the SCTE conference this September, noting, “We want to maintain our status as the worldwide leader in Wi-Fi, and we want to never bet against American ingenuity.”
The Importance of Additional Unlicensed Spectrum
Throughout the symposium, industry leaders reinforced Administrator Roth’s remarks about the need for more unlicensed spectrum for Wi-Fi. Federal Communications Commission (FCC) Commissioner Olivia Trusty noted, “…Unlicensed spectrum continues to play an important role in connecting Americans and fueling new and innovative technologies like Wi-Fi 7 and Wi-Fi 8, as well as the Internet of Things and autonomous systems.”
Currently, 17–30 million Americans live in Wi-Fi-congested areas. Without additional spectrum, 54 million more people could face congestion within five years, meaning more buffering on household devices and threatening trillions in economic value and millions of jobs. Chris Szymanski, Director of Product Marketing for Broadcom, underscored the criticality of this real threat at the Spectrum Symposium, urging, “We’ve got to get moving, and we need more spectrum for Wi-Fi.”
Unlocking the 6 GHz Band
Another focal point of Wi-Fi discussions amongst industry experts has been the success of unlocking the 6 GHz band for unlicensed use. According to recent studies, the demand for 6 GHz Wi-Fi devices is set to grow by 288% by 2029.
At the SCTE Tech Expo, Deputy Director of the National Economic Council Robin Colwell reinforced that one of the Trump Administration’s priorities is to remain a world leader on 6 GHz by encouraging other countries to follow our example from just a few years ago. She explained her previous work on unlocking the 6 GHz during the first Trump Administration, saying, “We fought tooth and nail to get that spectrum right. And it was so that we could become the worldwide leader in Wi-Fi. It was so that we could have all these innovations that we’re seeing now at this show.”
The FCC’s 2020 decision to unlock this band for unlicensed use was a game-changer for our economy, consumers, and national security. Colwell, in addition to highlighting how important it is to keep this momentum going with future spectrum policy, points out how this is still a priority for the administration: “I don’t understand how anyone could believe we are trying to go back on that now. It worked. We were right.”
Additionally, Senator Steve Daines (R-Montana) and nine additional senators signed a letter to the FCC in September of 2025 praising the 2020 decision, “by making available spectrum for next-generation Wi-Fi, the FCC cemented U.S. leadership in wireless innovation and created a much-needed pipeline of unlicensed spectrum to meet our nation’s ever-growing wireless demands.”
During the SCTE Tech Expo, a live demonstration also highlighted the importance of “completing” the 6 GHz band by unlocking additional unlicensed spectrum in the lower 7 GHz band. By combining the full 6 GHz band with 125 MHz of spectrum in the 7.125-7.25 GHz band, the demonstration achieved speeds of nearly 10 Gbps on a single device. That means you can download high quality videos in seconds or upload high resolution photos almost instantaneously. More significantly, without unlicensed spectrum in the 7 GHz band, achieving speeds close to 20 Gbps on Wi-Fi devices would not be feasible.
The bottom line: Wi-Fi is an American innovation and has become a true success story. Industry leaders like Administrator Roth and Deputy Director Colwell have emphasized that we must prioritize building upon the 6 GHz band and allocate additional unlicensed spectrum to keep America on top.
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