ICYMI: Tech Analyst Says Protecting the Full 6 GHz Band Is Essential for the “2028 Wi-Fi Olympics”

For Immediate Release

August 28, 2026

In case you missed it – Industry analyst Dean Bubley, founder of Disruptive Analysis, recently published an article in Light Reading arguing that the United States must protect the full 1,200 megahertz of unlicensed 6 GHz spectrum to ensure reliable, high-capacity Wi-Fi connectivity during the 2028 Los Angeles Olympic and Paralympic Games.

Bubley writes that LA28 will create enormous wireless demand across more than 40 competition venues, as well as hotels, airports, transportation hubs, and other locations serving the millions of visitors expected to travel to the United States for the Games—making Wi-Fi critical far beyond Olympic venues.

“6GHz adds essential capacity to the congested 2.4GHz and 5GHz Wi-Fi bands. It offers clean spectrum supporting up to seven 160MHz channels, or three 320MHz channels,” Bubley writes. “That means more high-speed lanes for wireless traffic and more scope for non-overlapping channels in large buildings, venues, hotels, media centers, airports and dense urban environments.” By 2028, he notes, most active iPhones and a growing share of Android devices, laptops and tablets are expected to support 6 GHz Wi-Fi.

Rather than repurposing any portion of the 6 GHz band for exclusive, high-power 5G use, Bubley argues that policymakers should ensure the entire band remains available for unlicensed Wi-Fi. He notes that no meaningful U.S. ecosystem of 6 GHz 5G devices and network equipment is likely to be in place by the 2028 Games, while Wi-Fi will already be broadly deployed and ready to carry critical traffic.

Read an excerpt from the article below.

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Protecting Spectrum For The 2028 Wi-Fi Olympics

Light Reading

August 19, 2026

While still two years away, the 2028 Los Angeles Olympic and Paralympic Games (LA28) will place huge demands on wireless networks, and the time to prepare is now. A critical role at the games will be played by Wi-Fi, which will need to exploit the full 1200MHz of 6GHz unlicensed spectrum between 5.925 and 7.125GHz to meet demand.

Policymakers should protect and support optimal use of this band to ensure wireless performance, availability and predictability for spectators, athletes, broadcasters, venue staff, transport systems, hotels, airports and the wider visitor economy during the Games. Wi-Fi’s role complements the importance of CBRS networks, which will also be used for localized network needs, as discussed in a previous article.

The cellular industry may cite the Olympics as a reason to change the status of parts of the 6GHz band, either temporarily or permanently. Such demands would be unreasonable and non-evidence-based. Policymakers should ignore any such proposals – not least because no suitably functioning 6GHz 5G ecosystem could be ready by mid-2028 anyway.

Check out the full article here.