SoftBank Tests 7GHz Potential of 6G

SoftBank announced that recent tests on the centimeter wave spectrum of the 7GHz band (a potential 6G band) have shown significant effectiveness in providing wide area coverage and stable communication quality in dense urban environments.

This Japanese telecommunications operator has obtained an experimental license for 7GHz and will continue to conduct outdoor validation tests in the Ginza area of Tokyo from June 2025.

SoftBank stated in a statement that the trial utilized three base stations supporting massive MIMO, as well as Nokia’s commercial 3.9GHz 5G site and testing equipment, to evaluate coverage continuity, communication quality, and radio wave propagation characteristics.

Test results

By using measurement vehicles, SoftBank has observed strong received signal power in visible areas such as main streets, while also successfully achieving signal reception in non visible areas such as narrow alleys. The company pointed out that these results confirm that utilizing the 7GHz frequency band can achieve wide area coverage.

In addition, SoftBank also found that the 7GHz frequency band performs well in penetrating buildings and responding to high-density user scenarios, with significantly lower signal attenuation than high-frequency millimeter waves. During the testing period, the network maintained stable low latency and high throughput in both uplink and downlink, especially when multiple users were accessing simultaneously, it was still able to maintain service quality. This series of verification results indicate that the 7GHz frequency band has the technological potential to serve as a basic coverage layer for 6G and is expected to play a key role in future mobile communication architectures.

In addition, statistical analysis of the communication quality indicator – Signal to Interference and Noise Ratio (SINR) – shows that it reaches a value of 0dB or higher in all regions, confirming the stability of the connection. The median SINR is 5.9dB, indicating that the entire region has good communication quality.

SoftBank stated that “this result is attributed to the radio wave propagation characteristics of the 7GHz frequency band – although the ability to diffract into non line of sight areas is limited, interference between adjacent base stations is less likely to occur, thereby achieving stable communication quality and minimal degradation.”

7GHz can empower 6G

Overall, experiments have shown that when 7GHz signals are deployed as high-power macro base stations in urban commercial areas, they can provide high-quality wide area coverage.

Dr. Akihiro Nakao, a professor at the Graduate School of Engineering at the University of Tokyo and co chair of the XG Mobile Advancement Forum (XGMF), pointed out that SoftBank’s experiments have demonstrated the effectiveness of designing 6G networks using the 7GHz frequency band.

He said, “Based on the insights gained from this validation, we will continue to promote the formation of the global 7GHz frequency band ecosystem and its social application through collaborative efforts among industry, academia, government, and international partners.”