People and things connectivity has become a key issue for companies and policy makers. Even when it is not officially defined or standarised, 5G promises to bring faster and more reliable mobile connectivity and be a driver for machine to machine connectivity and other IoT solutions.

This new research shows whether there is any policy proposal or target for 5G services in the Americas, indicating pioneer and proposed spectrum bands for 5G services and examples of trials.

From the countries researched in the Americas, only the United States has a 5G policy already in force. The FCC has allocated 10.85 GHz of licensed, unlicensed, and shared use spectrum above 24 GHz, besides mobile operators are planning trials in 28 GHz, 3.5GHz and 600 MHz.

In North America, Canada and Mexico are consulting on the release of millimetre wave spectrum (above 6 GHz) to support 5G and both countries have plans to free 600 MHz spectrum.

In South America, Brazil launched a multi-stakeholder initiative to draft a 5G strategy while the Brazilian NRA, Anatel, is studying the use of 3.5 GHz band for 5G services.