New Study Shows Critical Economic Impact of Wi-Fi Technologies

The annual economic value of Wi-Fi to the American economy will rapidly grow to $2.4 trillion in 2027, according to a new Wi-Fi Forward report released today. The report, conducted by Telecom Advisory Services, reveals the significant economic impact of Wi-Fi and its associated technologies, as well as the impact of policies that support the continued growth of these technologies.

Wi-Fi is a U.S. economic powerhouse

The report's projected 2027 economic impact is a 33% increase over the 2024 value of $1.6 trillion.

• This is due to factors like faster-than-anticipated growth in the speed and performance of networks and the quickening growth of Internet of Things (IoT) technology.
• The 2027 estimate includes a forecasted $514 billion in consumer benefit, $624 billion in producer surplus, and $1.2 trillion in GDP contribution.

Wi-Fi supports innovative technologies

The growth of next-generation Wi-Fi technologies in recent years has given American consumers increased security, reliability, and speed.

• These benefits have facilitated the growth of telehealth, efficient business operations, smart home technologies, online education, and much more.
• Wi-Fi also plays a critical role in supporting other connectivity technologies, such as mobile cellular service, which relies significantly on offloading data from cellular networks onto Wi-Fi.
  • Without Wi-Fi, there is no modern mobile connectivity experience.
• Wi-Fi networks have spawned new sources of economic value.
  • For example, the robust use of Wi-Fi in dense environments like stadiums or conference halls.

Building on the success of 6 GHz, supporting Wi-Fi 7

The report confirms that the FCC's April 2020 decision to allocate additional unlicensed spectrum in the 6 GHz band was a massive policy success, fueling the adoption of Wi-Fi 6 and setting the table for the rapid deployment and success of even faster and more powerful Wi-Fi 7.

• The FCC's decision generated an estimated $870 billion of incremental economic value in 2023 and 2024, projected to increase to $1.2 trillion by 2027.
• The study estimates that by 2027, over 50% of all U.S. Wi-Fi traffic will travel over Wi-Fi 7 technology.

Opening 7 GHz to grow the economy

According to the analysis, opening the 7 GHz band for unlicensed use will generate at least $79.62 billion in additional economic value between 2025 and 2027 alone.

• Unlicensed uses in the 7 GHz band add significant and immediate indirect economic value.
  • Shared use in the 7 GHz band can coexist with existing critical government and national security uses without disruption, especially when compared to other proposals for the band.
• Opening 7 GHz to unlicensed use means more players have the opportunity to innovate, compete, and grow, compared to a restrictive licensed approach.

Better future spectrum policy

As federal policymakers work to evolve our national spectrum strategy and Congress considers spectrum legislation, policymakers should act now to ensure that Wi-Fi has room to grow and meet demand.

The study supports the following policy actions:

• Immediately open the 7125 MHz-7250 MHz band under the FCC's 6 GHz technical rules - instantly creating a fourth Next Gen Wi-Fi channel.
• Open the mid-band between 7250 and 7625 MHz for unlicensed use.
• Launch an analysis of the remaining segment of the 7 GHz band.

To learn more about the power and impact of unlicensed spectrum and Wi-Fi, visit the page at ncta.com.

Public link

Please use the above public link if you want to share this noodl on another website.