Scottish WISP Scot-Tel-Gould has applied for an experimental licence to trial Tarana Wireless's Gigabit 1 (G1) 6GHz base nodes near Aberdeen, positioning the California-based vendor to capitalize on Ofcom's plan to open the upper 6GHz band to commercial users.

Scot-Tel-Gould already runs Tarana's G1 fixed wireless access equipment in 5.8GHz spectrum. The trial would move it into the upper 6GHz frequencies, where additional bandwidth could push link capacities to gigabit levels — what Tarana markets as "fibre-class" broadband.

The technical case rests on carrier aggregation. The G1 platform can combine four 40MHz carriers to deliver up to 1.6Gbit/s of capacity per link. "This allows over gigabit throughput to the remote site," Ivo Lansky, Tarana's business lead for Europe, UK and Central Asia, told Light Reading. Once licences are issued, the additional channels are activated on the radios and existing customers experience "double the speed," he explained.

Commercial logic

The speed uplift matters because the UK's fibre build has hit its economic limits, according to Lansky. "The industry has reached a phase where the fiber companies have connected what's most economical. Then what remains is the 10%–15% which is hard-to-reach or not so attractive economical areas," he said.

That residual is sizeable. Ofcom figures show gigabit-capable broadband now reaches 88% of UK homes and businesses, leaving roughly 4 million premises without coverage against a government target of 99% by 2032. Tarana's next-generation FWA (ngFWA) pitch is aimed squarely at that gap, and Lansky says Ofcom's new 6GHz framework is "expanding opportunity" for the company.

Tarana is also in discussions with a large UK fibre provider about using FWA to deliver gigabit broadband beyond the reach of its fibre network. Other ISPs have applied for experimental 6GHz licences alongside Scot-Tel-Gould.

Regulatory mechanics

None of this is commercially live yet. Ofcom has devised a spectrum-sharing framework for the upper 6GHz band covering both Wi-Fi and mobile cellular, but the frequencies remain unavailable for commercial use pending new regulation and approved coordination providers — hence the experimental licence applications.

Under the framework, Wi-Fi holds priority in 6425MHz–6585MHz, while mobile is prioritized in 6585MHz–7125MHz. Low-power indoor Wi-Fi will be licence-exempt, but higher-power and outdoor use — which includes FWA — must operate under an Automated Frequency Coordination (AFC) system. AFC functions like an air traffic control system for spectrum, determining which channels and power levels devices can use at specific locations without interfering with other users.

Tarana brings relevant experience here: its G1 product is already certified for 6GHz using AFC in the US and Canada, giving it a operational track record with the coordination model the UK will adopt.

Timelines

Ofcom began accepting applications from prospective AFC service providers in early September. The first commercial Wi-Fi services using the AFC system are expected to launch in the first quarter of 2027. Mobile users eyeing the upper 6GHz band face a longer wait — that spectrum will only become available after 2030.

Beyond the UK, Tarana has a live deployment in Estonia and early trial engagements underway in Germany and Central Asia. If Ofcom's regulatory timetable holds, the company and its UK ISP partners will have roughly two years to prove gigabit FWA economics in Aberdeenshire before commercial 6GHz access arrives.