The majority of countries with multiple telecom companies use a system called "spectrum licensing", in which they sell or auction off exclusive rights to companies to use certain wavelengths of electromagnetic spectrum. For example, in the US, AT&T and Verizon "own" almost the entirety of the spectrum needed to provide 5G service in New York. Many telecom companies buy up massive swaths of spectrum, although not all of it ends up actually being used by their products and services.