Latin America. One year before the 2019 World Radiocommunication Conference (WRC-19), the GSMA is calling on governments to support the spectrum needs of the mobile industry.
The successful deployment of ultra-fast 5G services depends on arriving on time with the right amount and type of spectrum in the coming year, the GSMA warns in a report on the state of the industry released today. As the race to launch 5G services intensifies, the GSMA highlights the need for governments, regulators and the mobile sector to work together to deliver broad coverage and the full potential of 5G for everyone.
According to the document "Spectrum for 5G: The GSMA's Public Policy Position", governments around the world have started auctioning spectrum for 5G networks. However, given the variations in the amount of spectrum that has been allocated and the onerous conditions imposed (in addition to the cost of access to that spectrum), the speed, scope and quality of 5G services could vary drastically between countries. Pioneering countries will be the first to take advantage of the significant benefits of 5G technology – from fibre-like mobile broadband speeds and smarter cities, to autonomous cars and digitalised factories – and will be able to reap significant socio-economic benefits, including GDP growth. GSMA Intelligence forecasts that by 2025 there will be 1300 million 5G connections, but this will depend on operators having access to sufficient spectrum.
In Latin America, while significant growth in 4G connections can still be expected over the next few years, the time to work to secure spectrum for 5G is now. The process of band assignment and clean-up takes time and, if countries in the region do not get involved in the choice of bands on the current international stage, they will be forced to implement what others decide later.
"Operators urgently need more spectrum to deliver the inexhaustible range of services that 5G will enable. The future of 5G depends largely on the decisions governments make over the next year as we approach WRC-19," said Brett Tarnutzer, Head of Spectrum, GSMA. "Without strong government support for allocating sufficient spectrum to state-of-the-art mobile services, it will be impossible to reach the global scale that enables affordable and accessible 5G for all. There is a real opportunity for innovation from 5G, but this depends on governments focusing on making enough spectrum available, rather than maximising auction revenues for short-term gains."
The GSMA outlines several key considerations for governments and regulators, including:
1. 5G technology needs wider frequency bands to support higher speeds and more traffic. Regulators that make available 80-100 MHz of spectrum per operator in the 5G mid-ranges (e.g. 3.5 GHz) and around 1 GHz per operator in the vital millimetre bands (i.e. above 24 GHz), will provide the most support for the fastest 5G services.
2. 5G technology needs spectrum within the three key frequency ranges to offer wide coverage and support all use cases:
Spectrum below 1 GHz to expand high-speed 5G mobile broadband coverage across urban, suburban and rural areas, and to help support Internet of Things (IoT) services.
1-6 GHz spectrum to offer a good mix of coverage and capacity for 5G services.
Spectrum above 6 GHz for 5G services such as ultra-high-speed mobile broadband.
3. It is essential that governments support the 26 GHz, 40 GHz (37-43.5 GHz) and 66-71 GHz mobile bands at WRC-19. It is essential to have a sufficient amount of harmonised 5G spectrum in these bands to enable faster 5G speeds, low-cost devices and international roaming, as well as to minimise cross-border interference.
4. Governments and regulators should avoid inflating 5G spectrum prices (e.g. by setting high auction reserve prices), as they risk limiting investment in networks and increasing the cost of services.
5. Regulators should avoid the reservation of spectrum for vertical sectors in key mobile spectrum bands; participatory approaches, such as leasing, are better options when vertical sectors require access to spectrum.
"Governments and regulators have an important role to play in ensuring that consumers get the best outcome from 5G," Tarnutzer added. "Once spectrum has been allocated at wrc, licensing at the national level, as history has shown, can take up to 10 years. It is therefore critical that governments take appropriate action now."
