On September 14, 2026, the Radio Regulation Bureau of China’s Ministry of Industry and Information Technology (MIIT) released proposed revisions to the Provisions of the People’s Republic of China on Radio Frequency Allocation for public consultation. The draft aims to support the development of radio technologies, ensure the normal operation of radio services and meet China’s medium- and long-term spectrum needs. It also incorporates decisions adopted at the 2023 World Radiocommunication Conference (WRC-23). The deadline for public comments was October 14, 2026.

The Provisions underpin China’s radio spectrum management framework and apply to the research and development, manufacture, import, sale, testing, installation and use of radio equipment in mainland China. The draft updates terminology, frequency allocations, domestic and international footnotes, and related technical provisions, aligning references with the 2024 edition of the International Telecommunication Union’s (ITU) Radio Regulations.

Implications for 60 GHz Technologies

For stakeholders developing 60 GHz wireless products, the draft’s most relevant change is the update to international footnote 5.559AA concerning 66–71 GHz, at the upper end of the broader 60 GHz range. The footnote retains the band’s identification for administrations wishing to implement terrestrial IMT and updates the reference to Resolution 241 as revised at WRC-23. It also preserves the principle that this identification neither excludes other allocated services nor establishes priority for IMT. The revision therefore updates an existing international framework rather than introducing a new Chinese designation of the entire 60 GHz range for mobile communications. 

The commercial implications should be assessed by application and exact operating band. For suppliers of 60 GHz wireless connectivity, fixed links and sensing products, the draft does not itself establish blanket permission to operate across 57–71 GHz, introduce new licence exemptions or specify new product-level power limits. Similarly, the proposed integrated sensing and communication provisions for 24.75–27.5 GHz should not be interpreted as authorization for sensing applications at 60 GHz.

From a market-access perspective, manufacturers should assess communications and radar products separately, checking each product’s operating frequencies, occupied bandwidth, emission characteristics and intended use against the applicable Chinese requirements. Compliance with overseas rules or an international wireless standard alone does not establish eligibility for deployment in China.

The principal strategic implication is the continued recognition of 66–71 GHz as a potential band for terrestrial IMT, alongside other allocated services. Companies developing products that extend into this band should monitor subsequent Chinese frequency-use plans and coexistence requirements. Any expansion of commercial opportunities would depend on those implementing measures; the draft alone provides insufficient grounds to conclude that China is broadly liberalizing 60 GHz communications or radar use.

Summary of Other Changes

The proposed changes have implications for telecommunications, aviation, satellite communications, maritime services, radar and emerging wireless applications. Key revisions include the following:

·         Additional spectrum identified for high-altitude IMT base stations. The draft identifies the 703–733 MHz, 758–788 MHz, 890–915 MHz and 935–960 MHz bands, or portions of these bands, for high-altitude platform stations operating as International Mobile Telecommunications (IMT) base stations, known as HIBS, in China. It also incorporates WRC-23 provisions identifying 2500–2655 MHz for HIBS in ITU Region 3, which includes China, with operation in 2500–2535 MHz restricted to reception by HIBS. These identifications do not establish priority over other allocated services, and HIBS cannot claim protection from existing primary services. Applicable WRC-23 resolutions would govern their use.

·     New domestic provisions for aviation communications in the 5 GHz range. The draft adds Chinese footnotes allowing all or part of 5030–5091 MHz to be used for aeronautical mobile (route) service systems. It also allows 5091–5150 MHz to support such systems beyond airport-surface applications. Both provisions make deployment conditional: systems cannot enter actual operation until the application modes, frequency-use plans, coexistence conditions and coordination procedures have been established. The proposals therefore provide a framework for future use, while leaving practical deployment dependent on further regulatory arrangements.

·        More specific conditions for integrated sensing and communication. The draft revises the domestic footnote governing the 24.75–27.5 GHz band, which is identified for IMT systems, to address integrated sensing and communication applications. IMT deployment must meet national radio-management requirements, comply with coexistence conditions and coordination procedures, and avoid harmful interference to space services operating in the band. Actual deployment remains conditional on the establishment of those coexistence arrangements and procedures. The revised wording also specifies that base stations supporting integrated sensing and communication would be limited to small-scale deployment in important sensitive areas.

·      Expanded definitions for radar and unmanned aircraft applications. The draft introduces definitions covering air traffic control radar, airport surface movement radar, runway foreign object debris detection radar, airborne weather radar and several meteorological radar categories. It also defines marine radar, shore-based vessel traffic services radar, traffic roadside radar, hydrological radar, oceanographic radar and ground-based deformation monitoring radar. Definitions for small-target detection radar and unmanned aerial vehicle-borne radar explicitly address applications such as detecting birds and drones, navigation, obstacle avoidance and target detection. These additions provide clearer terminology for increasingly diverse radar applications; they do not, by themselves, authorize operation in particular frequency bands.

·    Updated provisions for satellite connectivity on aircraft and ships. New international footnotes address aeronautical and maritime earth stations in motion communicating with non-geostationary satellites in the fixed-satellite service. The provisions cover specified downlink bands within 17.7–20.2 GHz and uplink bands within 27.5–30 GHz, subject to WRC-23 Resolution 123. The draft also updates provisions governing earth stations in motion communicating with geostationary satellites. These changes are relevant to satellite broadband systems serving aircraft and vessels, with operation subject to the applicable technical and regulatory conditions.

·      Additional inter-satellite spectrum arrangements. The draft incorporates inter-satellite service provisions for 18.1–18.6 GHz, 18.8–20.2 GHz and 27.5–30 GHz, or portions of those bands. Permitted uses are limited to space research, space operations, Earth-exploration satellite applications and the transmission of data originating from industrial and medical activities in space. Restrictions vary by band and satellite-orbit combination. The draft also introduces protection requirements for existing satellite feeder links, including a power-flux-density limit around registered earth stations operating in 19.3–19.7 GHz.

·         Updated maritime safety communications provisions. The draft incorporates WRC-23 provisions for NAVDAT, a system used to transmit maritime safety information. These address coast-station use of 500 kHz and 4226 kHz and identify additional regional frequencies for NAVDAT transmissions. The provisions also recommend coordination of operating characteristics through International Maritime Organization procedures, supporting consistent operation of maritime safety communications.

·         Revised transition arrangements and interference safeguards. The draft would extend the deadline for phasing out flight-test aeronautical telemetry in 4400–4500 MHz within a 300-kilometre radius of Xi’an’s Yanliang area from the end of 2025 to the end of 2030. Existing power-density limits and requirements to protect aeronautical radionavigation services in 4200–4400 MHz would continue during the transition. Other changes strengthen protection for passive Earth-exploration satellite services, including limits on unwanted emissions from specified non-geostationary satellite systems operating in 37.5–38 GHz.

For foreign manufacturers, system developers and service providers, the revision could influence both product planning and deployment strategies in China. Companies supplying telecommunications, satellite, aviation, maritime, radar and UAV technologies should assess the proposed changes against their operating bands and intended applications, paying particular attention to service status, interference-protection obligations and restrictions on actual deployment.

The final Provisions would establish the underlying allocation framework, while subsequent frequency-use plans, technical rules, coordination arrangements and equipment requirements would determine how particular systems can be introduced and operated. Stakeholders should therefore monitor both the final text and the implementing measures that follow.