NYU WIRELESS has become the first academic institution to join the mmWave Coalition, whose mission is to advocate for the use of radio frequencies above 95 GHz in the U.S. The Coalition, made up of leading technology companies in addition to NYU WIRELESS, is working with U.S. and international government and regulatory bodies to eliminate hurdles to using these frequencies. Availability of this spectrum would open up much needed broadband service for new applications for medical imaging, spectroscopy, new massively broadband IoT, and “wireless fiber” links in rural areas, ensuring that the U.S. remains competitive in the marketplace as 5G applications roll out.

Members of the mmWave Coalition have several goals, which are listed on their web site:

• Create large, contiguous blocks of spectrum by proposing service rules that span existing Fixed Service and Mobile Service bands, and present passive bands, facilitating speeds comparable with fiber optic technology.
• Update present U.S. Allocation Table US246 to enable controlled sharing of passive above 90 GHz spectrum under strict conditions that protect the passive uses of them, which is much easier at these frequencies than at lower bands
• Extend quantitative RF safety limits above present 100 GHz to decrease regulatory uncertainty.

You can read a detailed literature survey from 2015 regarding the potential health effects of mmWave frequencies in the NYU WIRELESS paper, “Safe for Generations to Come,” by Ting Wu, Theodore S. Rappaport, and Christopher M. Collins.