Millimetre-Wave Spectrum July 2025
Hot-Topic
Our latest Hot Topic report provides an update on millimetre wave (mmWave), a high-frequency band of the radio spectrum, typically ranging from 24 GHz to 100 GHz. This report provides insights about the global status of investment in mmWave, deployments by region, spectrum auctions and availability, device ecosystem and GSA’s outlook for the role of mmWave in the 5G ecosystem.
Highlights from this report include:
- GSA has identified 203 operators in 56 countries and territories investing in 5G mmWave network deployments. Of these, 24 operators in 17 countries have launched 5G networks using mmWave spectrum and an additional 65 operators in 43 countries are deploying or testing mmWave technology.
- Northern America, Asia–Pacific and Europe lead with the greatest levels of activity for operator investment in mmWave. Regarding launched networks, Europe leads the way, followed by Northern America and Asia–Pacific.
- There has been a considerable decrease in spending on mmWave spectrum since the end of 2020. Latin America, particularly Brazil, has seen an increase in spending throughout 2024 and 2025 so far.
- GSA has tracked a steady increase in commercial mmWave devices. As shown in Figure 6, the number of devices has increased from 21 at the end of 2019 to over 150 by the end of June 2025.
- Upcoming spectrum auctions in key markets and a steadily growing device ecosystem suggest mmWave will continue to expand its role in the 5G ecosystem over the next two to five years.
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© GSA 2025
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Millimetre-Wave Spectrum July 2025
