DSA Announces Winners for Social Impact of Spectrum Sharing

The annual Dynamic Spectrum Alliance (DSA) awards recognize the efforts of organizations who are committed to furthering innovation, accelerating digital inclusion, and exploring new opportunities for dynamic spectrum access.

“Sometimes for those not directly involved in spectrum management, it is hard to see the straight-forward relationship between spectrum sharing and social impact,” said Martha Suarez, DSA President. “However, the winners that have been selected this year have done a really great job. The citizens and people in the respective countries of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, Peru and Brazil will directly benefit from the award-winning work being achieved. It is really outstanding to see their accomplishments.”

The award for Innovation in Dynamic Spectrum Access Policies is presented to the National Telecommunications Agency of Brazil (ANATEL). The achievement reflects ANATEL’s outstanding leadership in adopting and implementing policies that make more spectrum available on a shared basis. The success comes after ANATEL’s decision to open the entire 6 GHz band (5925-7125 MHz) for unlicensed access by restricted radiation devices last February, as well as the on-going activities related to the use of white spaces for broadband connectivity and the advancements on their national spectrum management framework.

Recognised for their initiatives on connecting the unserved or underserved in Peru, the Ministry of Transport and Communication (MTC) was presented the Increasing Digital Inclusion award for dedicating spectrum to different broadband technologies in the country, creating the conditions for sustainable and affordable internet access to enable more people to be connected.

This year, the DSA Awards also presented the Wi-Fi Innovation award which recognizes a significant contribution towards developing dynamic spectrum access technologies in support of Wi-Fi use cases. This year, the Communications, and Information Technology Commission (CITC) of Saudi Arabia, is congratulated for its work on Wi-Fi which deployed more than 60,000 Wi-Fi access points since 2020 to help provide Wi-Fi services in public areas such as schools and hospitals. Additionally, the award is a recognition for being the first country in the Europe, Middle East and Africa region enabling license-exempt access to the entire 6 GHz band, which is really crucial for the development of Wi-Fi.

Suarez added, “We congratulate all the winners for their spectrum sharing efforts which are making significant contributions to the digital economies and livelihoods of people around the world.”

The DSA is committed to driving forward dynamic spectrum sharing progress and welcomes organisations to become a member for further collaboration and innovation.