The full spectrum of possibilities: meeting future demand for ...

August 2013

The full spectrum of possibilities

Meeting future demand for commercial mobile broadband services in Europe.

A manufacturer’s perspective

Contents

Executive summary ......................................................................................................................3

Chapter 1 – Why we need extra spectrum .................................................................................8

Chapter 2 – Advancing the European spectrum debate .........................................................11

2.1. Economies of scale through harmonisation .....................................................................11

2.2. Spectrum and the European single market ......................................................................11

2.3. Predictable spectrum availability .......................................................................................12

Second wave of ‘big auctions’ ................................................................................................12

2G and 3G licence expiry ........................................................................................................12

2.4. Wider channels support: up to 100MHz ............................................................................13

LTE-Advanced Carrier Aggregation .........................................................................................13

Wider contiguous assignments ...............................................................................................13

Bands with larger spectrum availability ..................................................................................13

2.5. Flexible support of asymmetric traffic patterns ...............................................................14

LTE-TDD for unbalanced traffic distribution ............................................................................14

Supplemental Downlink .........................................................................................................14

2.6. Licensed Shared Access to accelerate spectrum availability ............................................15

2.7. Spectrum for small cells within HetNets ...........................................................................17

2.8. Balanced spectrum for licensed access and unlicensed shared access ............................18

2.9. Spectrum to foster 5G innovation .....................................................................................19

Chapter 3 – EU spectrum policy for the shorter term .............................................................21

3.1. L-Band (1452–1492 MHz) ....................................................................................................21

3.2. 2GHz MSS band (1980-2010 // 2170-2200 MHz) ...............................................................24

3.3. 2300MHz band (2300-2400 MHz) .......................................................................................26

3.4. 3400-3600 and 3600-3800 MHz Bands ...............................................................................28

Chapter 4 – WRC-15: spectrum for the longer term ................................................................32

4.1. 470-694 MHz ........................................................................................................................33

4.2. 694-790 MHz ........................................................................................................................35

4.3. L-band Extensions (1350-1517 MHz) .................................................................................38

4.4. 2700-2900 MHz ....................................................................................................................39

4.5. 3800-4200 MHz ....................................................................................................................40

List of abbreviations ..................................................................................................................42

3

Executive Summary

Mobile broadband traffic has grown enormously in recent years, and much faster than forecasted as recently as 2007. This is due to the emergence and unexpectedly rapid proliferation of new types of mobile broadband devices, including smartphones and tablets, and the rich multimedia content they display.

By 2015, the number of mobile broadband subscriptions is expected to exceed 3 billion. More broadly, by the end of this decade it is estimated that the world will be home to more than 50 billion mobile connections, far outstripping the planet’s human population.

As society increasingly exploits the social and economic benefits of broadband access on the move, the various stakeholders (governments, regulators, operators and vendors) need to co-operate closely to address the growing requirement for new spectrum and to efficiently use this scarce resource.

But it is not just about making more bandwidth available, it is also about ensuring that the allocation and utilisation of spectrum keeps pace with technological evolution. The future economic benefits that will derive from the implementation of next-generation mobile standards, such as LTE-Advanced and 5G, will largely depend on the spectrum management decisions that are being taken now.

The Radio Spectrum Policy Programme (RSPP), the EU’s road map and blueprint for a wireless Europe, sets clear targets for the rolling out of new spectrum for the immediate future. In the longer term, the World Radiocommunication Conference in 2015 (WRC-15) is where mobile broadband spectrum requirements for the coming 10 to 15 years will be addressed. Any decisions taken – or not taken – there will affect the direction of the entire mobile broadband market.

A spectrum of harmony

Europe’s airwaves are a busy place, with mobile, satellite, radar, military communications, broadcasting and other signals bouncing around the ether. This makes the identification and efficient allocation of extra spectrum for mobile broadband services a difficult challenge, but one that is imperative we address in a way that serves consumers, operators and incumbent users.

The adequate and timely availability of new spectrum that is harmonised both globally and regionally is essential for the future development and deployment of mobile broadband services. This facilitates the kind of innovations and economies of scale required to meet the extremely competitive price levels that the market demands.

However, acquiring that sort of traction and gaining the right critical mass is challenging in light of the current fragmentation, despite the close coordination efforts of member states on policy matters, of the EU’s internal market which is hurting Europe’s competitiveness against increasingly fierce global competition. An illustrative example is provided by the European 800MHz band: 17 member states were not able to meet the RSPP objective requiring 800MHz spectrum availability by January 2013.

The EU is working to address this challenge robustly by creating a European Digital Single Market. A package of measures the European Commission plans to unveil at the end of the summer of 2013 is anticipated to include mechanisms for the greater coordination of spectrum policies.

In this regard, Huawei believes that the most important guiding principle is for spectrum management policies and procedures to be consistent, transparent and predictable. This applies to the assignment of new spectrum, as well as the re-farming and renewal of existing spectrum. This would allow mobile operators and other stakeholders to define effective strategies and business plans.

In addition, national spectrum policy should be driven by clear and transparent national broadband strategies that are consistent with the objectives of the Digital Agenda for Europe.

No more channel hopping

Future spectrum allocations need to take into account the growing end-user requirement for higher capacity connections and the corresponding technological enhancements this will involve. For instance, the LTE-Advanced Carrier Aggregation feature can combine patches of frequency into channels that are up to 100MHz wide, while 5G technology may target even wider channels. As wider channel assignments of this sort are difficult under current configurations, regulators should prepare for the allocation and harmonisation of wider bands.

In addition to allocating more spectrum overall, there is also the emerging reality that mobile broadband traffic is often not symmetrical, and the degree of symmetry and asymmetry varies with time and place. This is partly due to the increasing ubiquity of audiovisual mobile content. Over and above this, the growing traffic is not evenly distributed geographically, and large volumes are concentrated in outdoor and indoor hotspots, such as homes, offices, shopping malls, coffee shops, stations, etc. This requires local solutions, and small cells operating within a range of 10m to 2km which will increasingly cover this extra, localised demand. For that reason, adequate spectrum should be made available to address the need for wide contiguous channels for end-users and to support the backhaul of the traffic collected by the small cells. Moreover, sufficient regulatory measures should be put in place to facilitate the deployment of small cells (see Chapter 2.7).

Sharing the burden… and opportunity

Most applications today run in the 400MHz to 6GHz range. As the degree of spectrum utilisation in this range increases, it becomes increasingly difficult to identify new spectrum that can be set aside for mobile broadband in this range. In addition, it may not be possible to bring online new frequencies in a timely fashion. This raises the possibility of a middle ground, a complementary approach in which spectrum is shared. One promising model in this regard is Licensed Shared Access (LSA), which combines individual exclusive usage rights with spectrum sharing (see Chapter 2.6). While macro cells operating at frequencies below 3GHz have so far dominated, higher frequencies will be a key marker of the future. By for-mulating optimal solutions for utilising frequencies above 3GHz, the EU will be well-positioned to reap the rewards of its substantial investment in 5G technology (see Chapter 2.9).

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Spectrum in Europe today

Authorities across Europe are making new spectrum available by auctioning the 800MHz and 2600MHz bands and by allowing the so-called ‘re-farming’ of the 900MHz and 1800MHz GSM bands.

As described in the table below, within the 1025MHz that have been designated for European Electronic Communications Services, 590MHz are actually commonly used by commercial operators’ rollouts based on International Mobile Telecommunications (IMT) technologies.

HUAWEI TECHNOLOGIES CO., LTD. Huawei Proprietary - Restricted Distribution Page 2

Widely commercial MBB spectrum across Europe. Widely commercial MBB spectrum across Europe.

There is broad agreement on the need to make available more spectrum to mobile broadband uses. This paper provides Huawei’s views on how such expansion should take place.

Spectrum for the shorter term

European and national regulators are addressing the challenges posed through various initiatives. The Digital Agenda for Europe’s Radio Spectrum Policy Programme (RSPP) has identified ambitious short-term targets for the European spectrum (see Chapter 3).

Huawei supports the RSPP’s1 Article 3 objective to reach, by December 2015, 1200MHz of total spectrum available to support the increasing demand for wireless data traffic, thereby allowing the development of commercial and public services.

The table below illustrates the frequency bands that Huawei believes would best accomplish this objective. More details on the frequency bands mentioned are reported after the table.


Additional MBB spectrum to become widely commercially available before 2015

(in line with the 1200MHz RSPP objective). Additional MBB spectrum to become widely commercially available before 2015 (in line with the 1200MHz RSPP objective).

1 RSPP: http://ec.europa.eu/digital-agenda/en/rspp-roadmap-wireless-europe

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L-Band (1452–1492 MHz)

Currently set aside for digital audio broadcasting, the so-called L-Band (1452–1492 MHz) is largely unutilised. In line with the regulatory framework which will be adopted in November 2013, this band will soon be available to help deal with traffic asymmetry on the downlink side.

The mobile industry generally supports L-Band harmonisation. This is reflected in the clear commitments from equipment chipset manufacturers who are expected to roll out equipment in 2014, the same year as the first authorisations (see Chapter 3.1).

2GHz MSS band (1980-2010 // 2170-2200 MHz)

In Europe, the 2GHz MSS band has been allocated to Mobile Satellite Service (MSS) since 2006, but no significant commercial rollout has taken place so far. The European Commission is keen to identify the most efficient utilisation of this portion of spectrum, with terrestrial mobile broadband services as the most promising candidates.

The contiguity of this band with the 2GHz IMT Core Band, leading to significant simplifications in the rollout of equipment, makes this portion of spectrum an ideal candidate (see Chapter 3.2).

2300MHz band (2300-2400 MHz)

In the short term, the 2300MHz band represents the most promising opportunity for freeing up new spectrum for Long-Term Evolution (LTE) across Europe. As market trends reveal the increasing take-up of Time Division Duplexing (TDD), the application of LTE-TDD in this band is a significant opportunity for EU member states to improve overall spectrum utilisation and to meet the RSPP’s 1200MHz objective. Early adopters in Europe will be able to exploit the economies of scale that are now consolidating in other regions.

Ongoing European harmonisation of the 2300MHz band will be completed by June 2014, including the option to apply the LSA scheme for those administrations that consider the re-farming of incumbent services impractical or too expensive (see chapter 3.3).

3400-3600 and 3600-3800 MHz bands

Given current traffic requirement trends, operators are increasingly looking at heterogeneous networks (HetNets) in which the wide-area coverage layers are integrated with other layers of ‘small cells’ to provide additional capacity where needed.

The 3400-3800 MHz range is ideal for such focused coverage. This is due to its large span of contiguous spectrum and its reduced coverage capability, which improves the interference management associated with denser cellular topologies. The 3400-3800 MHz range will also be exploited for macro cell coverage also addressing the backhaul application.

Although many EU member states have auctioned the 3400-3600 MHz spectrum for WiMAX technologies, operators are now preparing for a future transition to LTE. Fewer auctions have taken place so far in the 3600-3800 MHz range.

Given this situation, the European Commission and national administrations should facilitate the transition from the current, underutilised status towards allocating larger channels for mobile broadband operators, who have very increasing needs for spectrum (see chapter 3.4.).

Spectrum for the longer term

The World Radiocommunications Conference in 2015 (WRC-15), which is due to take place in November 2015 in Geneva, represents a golden opportunity to lay the groundwork for the evolution of LTE networks and their associated technologies.

WRC-15 will have a huge impact on the development of the mobile telecoms market beyond 2020, how technology and networks evolve in the future will depend to a large extent on decisions taken there.

Given the need to manage the exponential mobile broadband traffic growth and in order to tap into the socio-economic benefits of widening Mobile BroadBand (MBB) access, Huawei believes that an additional 500 to 1000 MHz should be made available as a result of the WRC-15 discussions for this purpose worldwide (see chapter 4).

The following table shows the bands that Huawei believes to be stronger candidates for IMT identification at the WRC-15. Huawei perspectives on the frequency bands mentioned in the table below2 are reported after the table.

2 The frequency ranges in the table may include possible guard bands and duplex gaps.

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Additional MBB spectrum to become available after 2016 as a result of WRC-15.

Additional MBB spectrum to become available after 2016 as a result of WRC-15.

470-694 MHz

The future availability of the 470-694 MHz frequencies for mobile broadband services would advance the ambitious Digital Agenda for Europe. This range of the spectrum possesses excellent propagation properties which are suitable for a wide variety of rollouts, from wide-area rural coverage to deep indoor penetration in the urban environment. However, this band is currently used by television, which has prompted a debate on the future of Digital Terrestrial Video Broadcasting (DVB-T).

Huawei recognises that the discussions around the future utilisation of these frequencies need to proceed in parallel with the definition of a future-looking strategic policy to manage the necessary convergence of mobile broadband and terrestrial TV distribution networks.

From a technology standpoint, mobile technologies already have the capabilities to become the converged network supporting both broadcasting and MBB services (see Chapter 4.1).

694-790 MHz

In Europe, the 700MHz band will become the most important band for LTE, given its high propagation characteristics and its potential for global harmonisation.

The 2012 World Radiocommunication Conference (WRC-12) decided to add the new mobile service co-primary allocation (and IMT identification) for this band in International Telecommunication Union Radiocommunication Sector (ITU-R) Region 1 (Europe, the Middle East and Africa), to be effective immediately after WRC-15. The ITU and CEPT have consequently started their studies addressing the future band plan, the coexistence issues as well as the impact of this new allocation in terms of cross-border coordination.

To benefit the future economies of scale and international roaming, Huawei favours the maximum commonalities with the channel arrangement and technical provisions defined by the APT (Asia Pacific Telecommunity) for the 700MHz FDD band plan in ITU-R Region 3 (most of non-Russian Asia and Oceania).3 The adoption of the lower duplexer (2x30MHz)4 in the APT 700 FDD band plan is the most appropriate choice (see Chapter 4.2).

L-Band extensions

The WRC-15 is likely to extend the available spectrum for the L-Band. Huawei endorses further extensions of this band through IMT identifications within the 1350-1517 MHz range globally (see Chapter 4.3).

2700-2900 MHz

The 2700-2900 MHz band is an interesting candidate for future IMT identification at the WRC-15 due to its adjacency to the 2500-2690 MHz range. This would allow for wider assignments across the overall 2500-2900 MHz range.

The supply of lower cost RF components would be facilitated by the commercial availability of 2600MHz, while the rollouts in the 2700-2900 MHz range would leverage on the existing 2600MHz rollouts grid and installation infrastructure (see Chapter 4.4).

3 3GPP Band 28.4 2x33MHz band plan is also been considered.

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3800-4200 MHz

With its larger available spectrum, the overall 3400-4200 MHz range will play a more prominent role in the future, as traffic grows and the frequencies below 3GHz become busier. The shorter electromagnetic propagation distances make these higher frequencies especially suitable for densified network rollouts where interference could otherwise become unmanageable. Such higher frequencies are set to play a substantial role in the LTE evolution path and in future 5G innovation.

Why Huawei?

Huawei, as a leading global ICT solutions provider, is aware of the impact that policy decisions have on the future of the whole sector and on European citizens, and is actively engaged in on-going debates on telecoms policy.

Huawei welcomes and supports the various European initiatives to develop common policy and objectives for spectrum harmonisation and to provide clear planning in the longer term. Such initiatives will bring Europe a significant step closer to achieving the objectives of the Digital Agenda for Europe, delivering faster and more reliable broadband to all Europeans.

Supported by the largest R&D division in the ICT sector, Huawei is committed to the introduction of its wireless products according to market requirements and to the technical compatibility with existing systems. Huawei contributes to the definition of regulatory measures and standards worldwide.

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Chapter 1 Why we need extra spectrum

Mobile broadband traffic has grown enormously in recent years. This is due to the emergence and proliferation of new types of mobile broadband devices – smartphones, tablets and dongles – which have enabled people to use bandwidth-hungry software ‘apps’, higher-definition video5, in combination with social networking, and growing Machine-to-Machine (M2M) traffic.

The major driving forces are summarised in the following figure.

The ongoing introduction of LTE technology in the world’s leading markets is stimulating further demand for mobile broadband services from the more advanced end user devices.


Drivers for the mobile broadband traffic growth challenge.

New devices

Improved user

experience

New mobile

apps Convergence

Mobile Internet access

Price decrease

Mobile video

Wireless connected “things”

Smartphones, tablets, ...

Friendlier interfaces, larger screen size, faster

connectivity, longer battery life...

Inexpensive wireles modules embedded in

any object requiring information exchange.

Online mobile applications stores supporting social life

and productivity.

Convergence of mobile communications with other services and industries (e.g. TV broadcasting, Public Safety, …)

The main / sole access mean to the Internet for many people

Driven by competition and regulation

Increased demand for mobile video services

The 2020 mobile traffic

challenge

Drivers for the mobile broadband traffic growth challenge.

The International Telecommunication Union’s Radiocommunication sector (ITU-R) updated, at the end of 20116, its broadband traffic forecasts from 20067. It found that the data traffic volume reported for 2010 was more than five times greater than some of the ITU-R estimates from 2006. In addition, the actual traffic experienced by some operators in 2011 was even greater than some of the ITU-R’s projections for 2020. According to the ITU-R’s 2011 predictions, mobile broadband traffic would grow eightfold in the period between 2011 and 2012.

5 According to Cisco’s Visual Networking Index (VNI), mobile video will dominate, accounting for 70% of mobile traffic by 2016.6 Assessment of the global mobile broadband deployments and forecasts for international mobile telecommunications’, ITU-R, 2011. Link: http://www.itu.int/dms_pub/itu-r/opb/rep/R-REP-M.2243-2011-PDF-E.pdf7 ‘World mobile telecommunication market forecast’, ITU-R, 2006. Link: http://www.itu.int/dms_pub/itu-r/opb/rep/R-REP-M.2072-2006-PDF-E.pdf

9


ITU-R updated views on WRC-07 conservative traffic predictions.

ITU-R M.2243 (2011)

Actual traffic

100

10

1

Exabyte / yr.

2003

2004

2005

2006

2007

2008

2009

2010

2011

2012

2013

2014

2015

2016

2017

2018

2019

2020

0.1 yr.

ITU-R M.2072 (2006)

ITU-R updated views on WRC-07 conservative traffic predictions.

Huawei’s own predictions are in line with the latest ITU-R traffic growth estimations for 2015. For the longer term, Huawei projects a thousand-fold increase in traffic in the decade leading up to 2020. In addition to dramatically higher average data consumption values, future spectrum availability will need to address high peak data rate requirement from specific users, as well as user demand for consistent quality of experience.

These challenges can only be addressed by a number of parallel enhancements, including innovation in technology and topology, as well as making available new spectrum. The fundamental contributions from each of the foreseen improvements are estimated in the diagram below


Network Densification

More Spectrum Technology Evolution

~ 8x sites

~ 4x spectrum

bps/Hz/km2

HetNet & Small Cells

bps/Hz n* MHz

~ 4x spectral efficiency

Multiple efforts to meet the mobile broadband traffic growth challenge.

2G → 3G → 4G → ... 5G The 2020

Traffic challenge

Spectrum: key for all three enablers.

Multiple efforts to meet the mobile broadband traffic growth challenge.

As part of the preparatory work for the World Radiocommunications Conference in 2015 (WRC-15), specifically item 1.1 on the agenda, the ITU-R is now updating the spectrum requirement estimations for mobile broadband from 2007. Although work is ongoing, the preliminary results are provided in the table below.

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ITU-R (IMT)

WRC-07 estimates - 2007 (Report ITU-R M.2078)

Higher market setting 1720 MHz, by 2020 Lower market setting 1280 MHz, by 2020

WRC-15 Updates - 2013 (under discussions)

Higher market setting 1960 MHz, by 2020

Lower market setting 1340 MHz, by 2020

European Union Radio Spectrum Policy Programme objective (2012) 1200 MHz, by 2015

Spectrum requirements from ITU-R and European Union. Spectrum requirements from ITU-R and European Union.

In addition, national authorities are identifying their local spectrum requirements, as illustrated in the table below.


Country Source Traffic increase forecast

Available IMT spectrum

(MHz)

MBB spectrum requirement

(MHZ)

TOTAL (MHz)

USA FCC National BB Plan (2010)

x 35 (from 2009 to 2014)

547 (by 2009)

+ 275 (by 2014) + 500 (by 2020)

For mobile and fixed broadband

1322 (by 2020)

Canada Global Mobile BB Forum 2012

553 (by 2014)

+ 300 / 500 (by 2015) + 400 / 600 (by 2022)

1253 / 1653 (by 2022)

Australia ACMA paper Towards 2020 – future spectrum requirements for mobile BB

x 30 (from 2007 to 2014)

840 (by 2012) + 300 (by 2020) 1081

(by 2020)

Japan AWG workshop for future IMT (AWG-13/INP-136)

x 2 (on a yearly basis)

500 (by 2012)

+ 300 (by 2015) + 1000 (by 2020)

1800 (by 2020)

China ITU-R WP5D#15 (document 5D/256)

x 600 (from 2010 to 2020)

570 (by 2012)

570 / 690 (by 2015) + 800 / 1120 (by 2020)

1490 / 1810 (by 2020)

Spectrum requirements from countries in other regions. Spectrum requirements from countries in other regions.

Lower frequencies in the 400MHz to 6GHz range are playing a major role due to their ability to deliver wide coverage in less densely populated areas, as well as deep indoor coverage in cities. As mobile traffic and end-user requirements for high connection speeds grow, the higher frequency bands are attracting more interest than previously:

• Coverage bands: 400MHz to 3GHz, 400MHz to 1GHz especially

• Capacity bands: 1GHz to 6GHz, 3GHz to 6GHz especially

Frequencies below 400MHz cause technical difficulties in the design of end-user devices due to the larger dimensions required to serve frequencies with larger wavelengths. At a time when consumers demand ever shrinking, more compact devices, this places upward pressure on device sizes.

Frequencies above 6GHz, now the subject of intense R&D efforts, will be considered after WRC-15, whereupon solutions for the technical obstacles will have significantly advanced.

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Chapter 2 Advancing the European spectrum debate2.1. Economies of scale through harmonisationThe adequate and timely availability of globally and regionally harmonised spectrum, with associated supporting regulatory provisions, is essential for the future development of mobile broadband services. This facilitates the development of a healthy and innovative ecosystem, allowing the economies of scale required to meet the extremely competitive price levels that the market demands.

Harmonisation efforts should address technical implementation issues, such as the channel arrangements within a certain band, the Least Restrictive Technical Conditions (LRTC), including emission masks, to ensure smooth coexistence between services in the same band and in adjacent bands. In addition, harmonisation should address such issues as the synchronised availability of new spectrum and the possibility to apply new technologies to the existing bands, a process known as re-farming.

Spectrum harmonisation can ensure economies of scale for standardised products, driving down device costs. It can also ensure smoother cross-border coordination and enable better roaming capabilities within the region(s) where harmonisation is implemented.

The coordinating framework of the international use of radio spectrum creates the conditions for the rational, efficient and economically sound utilisation of radio-frequency spectrum in each country of the world. However, in practice, spectrum allocation is far from being globally harmonised today. For that reason, regulators in Europe and other parts of the world should coordinate closely their efforts in order to ensure that current disparities are overcome.

Many countries have not yet made available all frequency bands already identified for the IMT family of technologies by the ITU-R Radio Regulations, for various reasons, including the use of this spectrum by other systems and services, such as Aeronautical, Maritime and Civil Radiolocation and Navigation Systems, terrestrial broadcasting, defence systems, satellite systems, and fixed links. These local constraints have led to a situation in which the globally identified spectrum is twice what is available locally in many parts of the world.

Europe strives to promote greater cross-border and international harmonisation. Thanks to the successful coordination efforts of a number of key entities in Europe – including the 48 administrations belonging to the European Conference of Postal and Telecommunications Administrations (CEPT), the European Commission, the European Telecommunications Standards Institute (ETSI) – European regional harmonisation measures are widely considered to be de facto reference standards for the rest of the world. This highlights how Europe can play an important role in promoting global harmonisation in the longer term.

2.2. Spectrum and the European single marketAlthough the European Union is a world leader in terms of coordinated mobile communications policies, its internal market remains relatively fragmented, leading to a loss of global competitiveness. Progress towards an EU single telecommunications market, which includes spectrum regulation, is tackling these issues head on.

In March 2013, the European Commission announced that it will present, in the late summer of 2013, a package of legislative instruments to further promote a true European Digital Single Market for telecom services.8

8 www.consilium.europa.eu/uedocs/cms_data/docs/pressdata/en/ec/136151.pdf

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Among other things, the Commission’s package is expected to contain measures for the greater coordination of European spectrum management. One possible measure would put in place a shorter time window for operators to make harmonised spectrum available to operators.9 This was prompted by the slow pace with which European auctions have taken place for the 800MHz band. While the first auction took place in Germany in 2010, only 11 member states were able to meet the RSPP objective requiring 800MHz spectrum availability by January 2013. The European Commission has recently agreed to postponement to free the 800MHz band for one third of the EU countries.10 This has resulted in the slow rolling out of devices from major manufacturers and lacklustre investment in networks covering these frequencies. In contrast, the United States registered a far healthier market take-up for the 700MHz band that was auctioned in 2008. “The EU is lagging well behind the US in the deployment of next generation wireless infrastructures and the advanced services they make possible [and] EU consumers are worse off as a result,” concluded a report by GSMA, the association of GSM mobile operators. “EU regulatory policies have resulted in a fragmented market structure which prevents carriers from capturing beneficial economies of scale and scope and retards the growth of the mobile wireless ecosystem”.11

Other important areas that will be addressed by the European Commission’s package include the harmonised designation of spectrum to meet the so-called ‘RSPP 1200MHz objective’, the coordination of spectrum authorisations across the Union, as well as building and maintaining a coherent EU position in international negotiations.

Huawei regards the proposed package as an opportunity to strike the right balance between competition, investment and the sustainable supply of mobile broadband.

2.3. Predictable spectrum availabilitySpectrum management should be transparent and predictable so that mobile operators can formulate effective strategies and business plans. Consistency is required in such areas as the assignments of new spectrum, as well as the renewal or reallocation of existing spectrum.

National spectrum policy should be driven by clear national broadband strategies which are in line with the EU’s Digital Agenda for Europe.12

More specifically, new spectrum auctions should be planned and announced well in advance, in accordance with the EU’s road map for a wireless Europe, the Radio Spectrum Policy Programme (RSPP). Spectrum policy should also take into account the outcomes of the WRC-15 which is due to take place in Geneva, from 2 to 27 November 2015.13

Second wave of ‘big auctions’

The first wave of big spectrum auctions in Europe focused on the 800MHz and 2600MHz spectrum, combined with portions of available spectrum in the 900MHz and 1800MHz bands. This spectrum came online in the major European markets over the past three years.

Convinced of the positive impact that the first wave of auctions had on the availability of advanced mobile broadband services in Europe, Huawei believes that it is now time to start planning future spectrum assignments to address market needs beyond 2015.

The second wave of auctions should be designed to include those bands that are already starting to become available for the fulfilment of RSPP’s objectives (see the next chapter). It is difficult at this time to define a precise date for such a new wave of assignments, as it will depend on the outcomes of the WRC-15, but we can expect that the freeing up of the 700MHz band will determine the actual time for such a future set of auctions.

In order to stimulate continuous innovation and technology adoption in network infrastructure, future spectrum auctions should be more closely linked to the emerging reality of the market in which profit margins are ever-tightening and shrinking. The sometimes prohibitive costs of acquiring spectrum rights can cut into the ability of network operators to invest in modernisation and innovation, ultimately hurting the consumer.

In return for reducing the price of future spectrum auctions, regulators can make clear demands on future operators to invest in continuous network enhancement and the improvement of coverage.

2G and 3G licence expiry

Most of European spectrum licences will expire in the next three to seven years. Given how quickly this is approaching, European regulators need to address, in a timely and coordinated fashion, the future of such licenses. By so doing, they will enable European operators to define their strategies consistently and clearly.

9 http://europa.eu/rapid/press-release_SPEECH-13-622_en.htm#PR_metaPressRelease_bottom10 https://ec.europa.eu/digital-agenda/en/news/texts-derogations11 ‘Mobile wireless performance in the EU and the US’, GSMA, 2013. Link: www.gsmamobilewirelessperformance.com/GSMA_Mobile_Wireless_Performance_May2013.pdf12 The Digital Agenda for Europe: http://ec.europa.eu/digital-agenda/en13 WRC-15 official site: http://www.itu.int/en/ITU-R/conferences/wrc/2015/Pages/default.aspx

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If the goal of creating a European single telecoms market is to be achieved, then European national regulators will, one day, need to start coordinating the duration and expiration of spectrum licences.

In June 2013, the German regulator BNetzA started a public consultation14 in relation to a strategy paper on future mobile broadband spectrum assignments. The regulator’s draft proposals aim to formulate a coordinated and comprehensive approach to spectrum allocation. This is in line with the German government’s broadband strategy which aims to make widely available 50+ Mbps mobile broadband by 2018.The strategy recommends that spectrum from the following bands is earmarked for commercial mobile broadband services from 2017: 700MHz, 900MHz, 1800MHz and the L-Band (1452-1492 MHz).

BNetzA also suggests that each of Germany’s four mobile operators receives one 2x5 MHz paired blocks in the 900MHz band. This would be tied to coverage obligations targeting 99% of the German population. In addition, the assigned usage rights would last for 15 years, expiring on the same date for all bands.

2.4. Wider channels support: up to 100MHz

Future spectrum availability needs to take into account higher capacity connections for end users and the corresponding technological enhancements. The LTE-Advanced technology can combine various radio frequency resources into channels that are up to 100MHz wide, while 5G will target even wider channels. As wider channel assignments of this sort are difficult under current configurations, regulators should prepare for the allocation and harmonisation of wider bands

LTE-Advanced Carrier Aggregation

Carrier Aggregation is one of the key features introduced in Release 10 of the increasingly popular mobile standard known as 3GPP (3rd Generation Partnership Project) LTE-Advanced, which will soon be commercially available. Carrier Aggregation allows for the coordinated transmission and reception of two or more carriers in the same band or in different bands.15 Carrier Aggregation offers support for up to 100MHz channels per user, thanks to the aggregation of up to 5 LTE carriers (which are scalable up to 20MHz).

There is currently strong interest among operators in Carrier Aggregation applications for intra-band, inter-band combinations: more than 40 active Work Items in the ongoing LTE-Advanced standardisation work will support intra-band and inter-band Carrier Aggregation from the same and different sites. LTE-Advanced Release 12 is expected to allow for the aggregation of carriers belonging to radio transmitters from different coverage layers, including the aggregation of frequency channels from the wide area coverage base stations and from small cells. The aggregation of traffic from unpaired channels (used by LTE-TDD technology) and from paired channels (used by LTE-FDD technology) is being addressed in the 3GPP Release 12 as well.

Wider contiguous assignments

The European 2020 strategy’s Digital Agenda for Europe seeks to extend mobile broadband of at least 30Mbps by 2020, while more than half of households should enjoy access to at least 100Mbps within the same time frame. These objectives would be facilitated by larger than 40MHz assignments to operators.

Such wider assignments, combined with Carrier Aggregation, would simplify implementation, both in terms of the end user devices and the base stations. This would also enable a higher quality user experience and connection speeds, both for uplinks and downlinks direction.

As larger expanses of spectrum in the same band are not easy to obtain in the current configuration, European regulators need to identify bands which allow for larger assignments.

Bands with larger spectrum availability

One of the important targets for the new WRC-15 spectrum is associated with the need to exploit the potential of the latest IMT technology by enabling future contiguous assignments of at least 100MHz. The 3400-4200 MHz range offers a unique opportunity, as it allows for up to 100MHz channel assignments for multiple operators in the same band.

Newer sharing approaches, such as spectrum sharing, could facilitate the broader availability of channels for 5G. Access to wider bandwidths of this sort is important for future small cell deployments.

14 www.bundesnetzagentur.de/cln_1912/SharedDocs/Pressemitteilungen/DE/2013/130624_MobilesBreitband.html?nn=265778 and www.bundesnetzagentur.de/SharedDocs/ Downloads/DE/Sachgebiete/Telekomm15 Signals from these aggregated carriers are simultaneously processed by the baseband unit, thus allowing throughput aggregation from both carriers using the same infra structure.

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2.5. Flexible support of asymmetric traffic patterns

It is said that video killed the radio star, but mobile broadband will keep video with us for a long time to come. In fact, video distribution is set to become a dominant source of traffic on mobile networks. This will undoubtedly lead to asymmetric patterns in either uplink or downlink. A number of solutions exist to smooth the discrepancy between uplinks and downlinks.

It is now widely recognised that video content will represent a significant portion of traffic on mobile networks. This will undoubtedly lead to asymmetries between uplinks and downlinks. For example, fans at a football stadium or concert may livestream the action to their friends, putting immense pressure on the uplink. In contrast, fans at the airport or train station who could not make it to the game may tune in on their smartphone, stressing the downlink.

As described in the following sections, such patterns can be addressed by the LTE-TDD technology or by the LTE Supplemental Downlink (SDL) technology. LTE-TDD supports traffic asymmetry on either the uplink or the downlink, with the ability to adapt flexibly to shifting traffic patterns.16 In contrast, SDL technology can only support increased traffic on the downlink.

LTE-TDD for unbalanced traffic distribution

LTE-TDD inherently allows configurable asymmetry on either uplink or downlink. It does so by providing seven different semi-statically configured uplink-downlink configurations. The semi-static allocation may or may not match the instantaneous traffic situation, so additional mechanisms are being standardised in release 12 of the 3GPP standard, which will allow dynamic allocation of resources to the uplink or downlink paths.

When it comes to multi-operator rollouts where common synchronisation is adopted by the operators, one common, fixed uplink/downlink ratio must be configured in the operators’ networks. Despite the obvious drawbacks of this rigidity, the resulting common TDD ratio is still better suited to operators’ needs than a 50% asymmetry hardwired into FDD, and it can always be changed at any moment.

LTE-TDD is now gaining market traction everywhere, due to its versatility and adaptability. LTE-TDD is an integral part of the 3GPP standards, sharing significant common properties with LTE-FDD and offering comparable performance characteristics with similar high-spectral efficiency.

LTE-TDD is now entering maturity. As of May 2013, there are 54 commercial LTE-TDD networks in deployment or firmly planned (Huawei acquired 36), while there are 17 commercially launched LTE-TDD networks17 (12 powered by Huawei). Of the 948 LTE devices, about a fifth, or 200, support the LTE-TDD operating mode, including smartphones, tablets, mobile Wi-Fi routers, USB dongles and modules. There is a good choice today of dual mode LTE FDD/TDD devices. Examples include the 3GPP band 7 (2600MHz FDD) combination with 3GPP band 40 (2300MHz) supported in 65 devices, and the 3GPP band 3 (1800MHz) combination with 3GPP band 38 (2600MHz TDD) combination supported in 60 devices18. All major network equipment manufacturers stressed the importance of LTE-TDD and have already launched their own LTE-TDD solutions.

When multiple operators deploy TDD systems in the same band and in the same geographical areas, interference may occur if the networks are uncoordinated. Several techniques can be utilised to improve coexistence, such as common synchronisation, sub-band filtering, site coordination and restricted blocks. If accepted by the operators involved, the common synchronisation approach is the most appropriate solution, in Huawei’s view.

Supplemental Downlink

SDL was introduced in the ninth Release of 3GPP for Evolved High-Speed Packet Access (HSPA+) and is possible, with the Carrier Aggregation (CA) feature, for LTE from release 10 onwards. SDL uses unpaired spectrum for the downlink communication only. An SDL carrier of this kind cannot be made available without linking it to a conventional primary carrier in the same or another band.

In the United States, AT&T plans to use its unpaired 12MHz carrier (716-728 MHz, 3GPP Band 29) as an SDL carrier to be aggregated with another paired carrier outside the 700MHz band (USA band plan). Devices that utilise this technology are expected to become available in 2014.

In Europe, a decision19 which was recently approved for publication by the Electronic Communications Committee harmonises the European L-Band (1452-1492 MHz) for Mobile/Fixed Communications Networks Supplemental Downlink (MFCN SDL). In addition, a work item was started recently in the context of 3GPP to specify this band as SDL for HSPA and LTE.

16 In case of existing guard bands between operators.17 According to the GSA, ca. 175 LTE networks commercially launched globally – www.gsacom.com.18 www.gsacom.com/downloads/pdf/GSA_lte_ecosystem_report_050713.php419 www.cept.org/Documents/fm-50/11140/FM50(13)011_Annex-4_Draft-ECC-DEC-on-L-band-use

15

2.6. Licensed Shared Access to accelerate spectrum availability

As the degree of spectrum utilisation in the 400MHz to 6GHz range increases, it becomes more difficult to identify new spectrum that can be made available for mobile broadband. Moreover, access to new frequencies may not be possible within an appropriate timeframe. To tackle this challenge, administrations need to reduce the time that separates the identification of a certain band from its actual assignment nationally. This may require a pragmatic approach, such as Licensed Shared Access (LSA).

The mobile broadband spectrum is currently assigned through national market-driven auctions which remain the preferred process for introducing new spectrum into the market. In line with the EU’s Authorisation Directive (2002/21/EC), such auctions define caps to guarantee competition and obligations to ensure that the spectrum is used efficiently.

As access to new spectrum resources becomes more and more difficult, Huawei believes that a complementary, pragmatic approach could be applied in certain cases. The optimal solution is Licensed Shared Access (LSA), which combines the notion of individual exclusive usage right, thereby ensuring predictable quality of service for the licensee, with spectrum sharing.

According to the RSPG’s20 latest working definition21, LSA is: “A regulatory approach aiming to facilitate the introduction of radiocommunication systems operated by a limited number of licensees under an individual licensing regime in a frequency band already assigned or expected to be assigned to one or more incumbent users. Under the LSA framework, the additional users are allowed to use the spectrum (or part of the spectrum) in accordance with sharing rules included in their rights of use of spectrum, thereby allowing all the authorised users, including incumbents, to provide a certain QoS (Quality of Service).”


LTE eNB

INCUMBENT USERS

Satellite downlink Wireless cameras (PMSE)

aeronautical telemetry

LSA LICENSEES

Time

Frequency

Space

The Licensed Shared Access concept. The Licensed Shared Access concept.

While the details of the LSA definition are being hammered out in various forums, Huawei believes that LSA:

• Enables the efficient use of spectrum and fosters mobile broadband innovation

• Is compatible with the current EU regulatory framework because it provides licensees with exclusive spectrum rights of use where and when the spectrum is not being used by the incumbent

• Should not target spectrum already awarded under the Authorisation Directive (2002/21/EC)

20 A dedicated RSPG working group is now developing a response to the European Commission’s request for an opinion on spectrum issues concerning licensed shared access (document RSPG12-424 Rev2, 8 November 2012).21 “draft RSPG opinion on Licensed Shared Access” - RSPG13-529 rev1,. See: rspg.groups.eu.int/consultations/index_en.htm

16

• Should target bands allocated to incumbents, with “incumbent” defined as a current holder of spectrum rights of use which have not been granted through an award procedure for commercial use

• Enables the better utilisation of underutilised bands in a timely manner while complying with EU regulation

• Complements the preferred traditional model of exclusive authorisations of individual rights of use when the re-allocation or clearing of spectrum is deemed lengthy, costly and impracticable due to incumbent use

• Addresses bands with significant potential for global harmonisation

• Is a voluntary regulatory tool leveraging mutual commercial benefits for both incumbents and LSA licensees

• Is binary by nature: the spectrum is used either by the incumbent or LSA licensee, but not by both simultaneously

• Should be based on formal agreements ensuring predictable quality of service comparable to that of traditional exclusive individual usage rights

LSA is an innovative approach to spectrum management and can help contribute to the objectives of the Europe 2020 strategy’s Digital Agenda for Europe. In addition, LSA represents an opportunity for Europe to lead the global debate on the shared use of spectrum.

Regulatory background

The Radio Spectrum Policy Group (RSPG)

LSA was initially proposed by an industry consortium22 in response to the RSPG consultation on Cognitive Radio Systems (CRS) in January 2011. The first definition of LSA was provided by the RSPG in its November 2011 report.23 A dedicated RSPG working group has recently formulated an opinion on the subject in response to a European Commission Request.24

The European Conference of Postal and Telecommunications Administrations (CEPT)

Since September 2012, after finalising its report on LSA25, a working group of the CEPT’s Electronic Communications Committee (ECC) has been working on the LSA concept, a European regulatory framework for it and its specific application in the 2300MHz band.

The European Commission

In November 2012, the European Commission issued a standardisation mandate26 addressing the following objective with reference to the LSA:

Objective A (deadline: Q4 2014): in the area of commercial applications, to enable the deployment and operation of Cognitive Radio Systems (CRSs) including white space devices (WSD) and devices under the LSA regime, dependent for their use of radio spectrum on information obtained from geolocation databases (GLDB).

The corresponding activities started after the publication of the mandate, in particular at the ETSI’s Reconfigurable Radio Systems (RRS) group.

The European Telecommunications Standards Institute

The European Telecommunications Standards Institute’s RRS group is the key centre of competence within ETSI for future spectrum sharing standards. Drawing on input from industry, the RRS recently submitted its technical report on LSA in the 2300-2400 MHz band27 to the CEPT.

In the framework of the above-mentioned mandate, the ETSI’s RRS is expected to further develop harmonised standards which can act as a regulatory tool in Europe.28

22 http://rspg.groups.eu.int/consultations/consultation_cognitiv_2010/qualcomm_nokia_0114.pdf23 ’Collective use of spectrum (CUS) and other spectrum sharing approaches’. Link: http://rspg.ec.europa.eu/_documents/documents/meeting/rspg26/rspg11_392_report_CUS_ other_approaches_final.pdf.24 Document RSPG12-424 Rev2, 8 November 2012.25 See the FM(12)040 input document from ECC WG FM meeting #75 Link: www.cept.org/ecc/groups/ecc/wg-fm/client/meeting-documents.26 http://www.etsi.org/images/files/ECMandates/m512.pdf27 ‘Mobile broadband services in the 2300MHz-2400MHz frequency band under Licensed Shared Access regime’. 28 The European standards organisations (ESOs), including the ETSI, support European legislation by creating the standards through which EU directives can be implemented. European standards developed in response to a mandate are called ‘harmonised standards’.

17

2.7. Spectrum for small cells within HetNets

The growing volume of traffic is not evenly distributed over the whole network and a large portion of it is concentrated in outdoor and indoor hotspots (homes, offices, shopping malls, coffee shops, etc.). Small cells will increasingly cover this extra demand. For that reason, adequate spectrum should be made available to address the need for wide contiguous channels for end-users and to support the backhaul of the traffic collected. The availability of the 2300-2400 MHz band in the short term, together with future availability of the 2700-2900 MHz and 3400-4200 MHz ranges for the medium to long term, would count as additional valuable resources in this respect29. Beyond spectrum, proper regulatory measures should be put in place to facilitate the deployment of small cells30.


Residential area

Coverage hole

Hotspot

Coverage hole

Macro Macro Wi-Fi

Wi-Fi

Hotspot

Macro

Business district

Macro Huawei AtomCell

Small Cell Small Cell

Small Cell Small Cell

Huawei HetNet. Huawei HetNet.

Given the growing volume of traffic and higher utilisation of the frequencies below 3GHz, frequencies in the 3GHz range will play a more central role as the technology matures. Significant work is being carried out for the 3400-4200 MHz range across the three ITU regions31, which can help efforts towards the global harmonisation of mobile broadband use and roaming.

The 3800-4200 MHz range represents a unique opportunity for wide contiguous spectrum for broadband services using macro and small cell IMT rollout schemes (indoor and outdoor) belonging to heterogeneous networks.

In line with the extensive discussions taking place worldwide on the future utilisation of the 3400-4200 MHz range, Huawei believes that utilising this spectrum range would place Europe in a leading global position that would enable it to implement a forward-looking strategy for the expansion of mobile broadband services. An initiative of this sort would complement EU efforts in the sphere of 5G.

29 Future rollouts in the 2300-2400, 2700-2900 and 3400-4200 MHz ranges will not be limited to small cell use across Europe 30 Addressing such issues as consistent rules to manage sites access, the sharing of sites and infrastructure among operators, and consistent regulation on small cell output power limits31 ITU-R Region 1 is made up of Europe, the Middle East and Africa, the Russian Federation and Mongolia. Region 2 comprises the Americas, Greenland and some of the eastern Pacific Islands. Region 3 covers most of non-Russian Asia, east of and including Iran, and most of Oceania.

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2.8. Balanced spectrum for licensed access and unlicensed shared access

Huawei network solutions exploit the complementarities between LTE and WiFi small cells. Considering that small cells require large amounts of contiguous spectrum, this will necessitate the utilisation of higher frequencies. Therefore, adequate balanced spectrum should be provided for the effective rollout of WiFi and LTE small cells within the same access network. The ongoing discussions (in Europe and globally) on the availability of the 3400-4200 MHz range for LTE and on the availability of the 5GHz WiFi spectrum is a step towards a balanced solution.Huawei network solutions exploit the complementarities between LTE and WiFi small cells.


LTE Macro & Small Cells

WLAN AP (nomadic indoor)

UMTS Macro & Small Cells

AtomCell w. WiFi

RNC/BSC/ MME

AC

Internet

Load, location

Info, Policy

GSM Macro

TGW

Data traffic

Single Radio Controller

CN/EPC

Valuable services $

LTE and WiFi integration. LTE and WiFi integration.

There are a number of rationales for this:

• Compared to LTE, the attractiveness of Wireless Local Area Network (WLAN) is very much related to its lower costs. This is accompanied by a lower level of performance which users are willing to accept this at certain times, for specific purposes

• The simpler medium-access control mechanism adopted by WiFi32 shows its limits in case of network congestion

• Cellular networks are better positioned to address highly mobile use of high-rate, high-capacity services, such as on public transport or in private vehicles.

• WiFi provides spot coverage for stationary users, while WiFi (802.11ac) evolution focuses on capacity and rate enhancements

• LTE small cells and heterogeneous networks (HetNets) support wider coverage leading to fewer sites and lower infrastructure and operating costs. WiFi needs to respect stricter EIRP33 limits which are required for unlicensed spectrum

• Some complementarities also exist on the end-user device side. A significant number of tablets have already been shipped with WiFi connectivity and without mobile broadband connectivity based on 3GPP standards

• While it is difficult for mobile broadband operators to run a profitable business based on WiFi, they can certainly benefit from the integration of WiFi and LTE within the same access network

Small cells require large amounts of contiguous spectrum in order to complement the performance available from the macro layer. For that reason, higher frequencies are the most suitable for small cells, due to the positive effect that shorter range has on interference management.32 The contention-based Carrier Sense Multiple Access with Collision Avoidance CSMA-CA33 5150-5350: MHz 200mW EIRP indoor; 5470-5725MHz 1W indoor & outdoor; 2400–2483.5 MHz 100mW

19

Huawei believes that adequate balanced spectrum should be provided for the effective rollout of WiFi and LTE small cells within the same access network. The ongoing discussions (in Europe and globally) on the availability of the 3400-4200 MHz range for LTE and on the availability of the 5GHz band for WiFi points to a well balanced solution.


3800-4200MHz

3800

4200

3500MHz band 3700MHz band 36

00

3400

3.5GHz band expansion for LTE

“lower C-Band” “upper C-Band”

5725

5925

5GHz 5GHz exp.

5350

5150

3470

5GHz 5GHz exp.

5GHz band expansion for WiFi

Future options for the 3GHz and 5GHz bands in Europe. Future options for the 3GHz and 5GHz bands in Europe.

2.9. Spectrum to foster 5G innovationEuropean research activities into fifth-generation networks are exploring the technical solutions to address massive traffic volume growth expected for 2020 and beyond. The time has arrived to plan the 5G spectrum availability in order to prepare for these future needs.


2012: LTE Macro dominant, limited small cells

2020: 5G Macro for wide area connectivity. Many small cells enabled on demand, meshed wireless backhaul or fibre

2016: 3GPP Rel. 12 Including Small Cells enhancements

Small Cells evolution towards 5G. Small Cells evolution towards 5G.

The main drivers that have prompted research into 5G networks include:

• The massive growth in connected devices, such as smart devices, modules, sensors, actuators

• The diversification of users, services and applications which has led to vastly differing requirements, such as high performance for multimedia (required in crowded stadium live streaming, among others), the challenges related to ubiquity (including in car MBB), as well as mission-critical uses for emergency communications and smart grids

• The proliferation of low-cost devices, such as those for mobile-to-mobile and Internet of Things applications

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• Openness to future, as yet unknown, requirements

• The need to save energy and protect the environment

It is now the right time to plan 5G spectrum availability in order to prepare for the future towards which current R&D efforts are paving the way. WRC-15, in November 2015, will be the first key opportunity in this regard.


Time 2016 2020 2011

WRC-15 WRC-12

LTE-A Rel. 12

WRC-18/19

WRC-15 candidate bands selection

WRC-15 spectrum EU harmonization

WRC-15 spectrum auctions

WRC-15 spectrum to support first 5G rollouts.

LTE-A Rel. 10 5G

WRC-15 spectrum to support first 5G rollouts.


5G PPP METIS (FP7) “Mobile and wireless communications Enablers for 2020 Info Society” Start: Q4 ‘12 www.metis2020.com

“Horizon 2020 Advanced 5G Network Infrastructure for Future Internet PPP” Industry Proposal

The European Union R&D efforts fo 5G. The European Union’s 5G R&D efforts.

21

Chapter 3 EU spectrum policy for the shorter term

European regional and national regulators are addressing the challenges posed by mobile broadband adoption through various initiatives. The Radio Spectrum Policy Programme34, in the context of the Digital Agenda for Europe, has identified ambitious short-term targets for European spectrum policy.

The purpose of this chapter is to identify and assess the bands that can help in fulfilling the RSPP objective to make available 1200MHz of spectrum for wireless data traffic by 2015. The table below35 illustrates the frequency bands that Huawei expects will support this RSPP objective.


Additional MBB spectrum to become widely commercially available before 2015

(in line with the 1200MHz RSPP objective).

Additional MBB spectrum to become widely commercially available before 2015 (in line with the 1200MHz RSPP objective).

3.1. L-Band (1452–1492 MHz)

Currently set aside for digital audio broadcasting, the L-Band is largely unutilised. In line with the regulatory framework which will be adopted in November 2013 this band will soon be available to support traffic asymmetry with LTE downlink-only channels. L-Band harmonisation is supported by the mobile industry, with clear commitments from equipment chipset manufacturers. This is reflected in the fact that first authorisations are expected in 2014 and the first equipment is likely to be available the same year, depending on market demand. The discussion on a possible extension of the L-Band for IMT is attracting great attention within the WRC-15 preparatory work.

As previously highlighted, the leading role of video downloads in mobile internet traffic leads to asymmetric traffic patterns which have to be considered when addressing future spectrum availability in Europe.

34 EC DEC 243: http://eur-lex.europa.eu/LexUriServ/LexUriServ.do?uri=OJ:L:2012:081:0007:0017:EN:PDF35 The frequency ranges in the table may include possible guard bands and duplex gaps.

22

Huawei has actively supported the CEPT’s work on the L-Band36 since it began in late 2010, contributing to the European harmonisation of this portion of spectrum for Mobile/Fixed Communication Networks Supplemental Downlink (MFCN SDL). The L-Band regulatory framework is expected to be adopted in November 2013.

From a technological point of view, the CA feature across different bands is available for HSPA+ and LTE starting from 3GPP Release 9 and Release 10, respectively. CA will allow next generation wireless products to use the L-Band downlink channels in combination with other paired channels available in other paired bands (e.g. the 800MHz, 900MHz, 1800MHz, 2100MHz bands).


791 801 832 842 1472 1462

Two examples of Multimedia Supplemental Dowlink application for LTE Rel. 10.

MHz

MHz

1725 1710 1805 1820 1472 1462

MHz

MHz

Example #1

Example #2

20MHz (DL) 10MHz (UL)

25MHz (DL) 15MHz (UL)

800MHz Band L-band (SDL)

L-band (SDL) 1800MHz Band

Two examples of Multimedia Supplemental Dowlink application for LTE Release 10.

Regarding the technical conditions for base stations, the draft ECC Decision37 (recently adopted for public consultation) allows for higher Equivalent Isotropically Radiated Power (EIRP) values for the base stations’ in-band emissions. Based on compatibility studies and specific local circumstances, national administrations could allow higher than 68dBm EIRP values. Such provisions will enable the smooth aggregation of the L-Band SDL carrier with FDD carriers from lower frequency bands, such as the 800MHz band.

Compared with today’s very limited utilisation, such proposals will lead to clear social and economic benefits, which is in line with the ambitious targets of the EU’s Europe 2020 strategy and, specifically, the Digital Agenda for Europe.

The L-band has good potential for global harmonisation. This is because the 1300-1600 MHz range is currently allocated by the ITU in Radio Regulation (WRC-12 update) to mobile services. In the next chapter, we show how an extended version of the 1452-1492 MHz L-Band is one of the strongest candidates for the WRC-15’s preparatory work (Agenda Item 1.1). Moreover, the discussion on the identification of an extension of the L-Band for IMT is attracting great attention.

Regulatory Background

International Telecommunication Union (ITU)

The use of this band is subject to ITU RR 5.345, 5.342 and Res. 528 (WARC-92) allocating the 1452-1492 MHz band on a co-primary basis for: fixed links, mobile communications, as well as satellite and terrestrial radio broadcasting services in all regions. Current allocations enable the use of this spectrum as an SDL channel.

The European Union

The first reading amendment to the European Commission’s Radio Spectrum Policy Programme (RSPP) explicitly added a reference to the L-Band as part of the spectrum that can be allocated to wireless broadband services before 2015.

The recent Radio Spectrum Policy Group’s (RSPG) opinion on wireless broadband assigns the L-Band the potential for wireless broadband38 for the near term.

36 L-Band terminology refers to the 1 to 2 GHz frequency range, as defined by the Radio Society of Great Britain (RSGB)37 RSPG opinion on strategic challenges facing Europe in addressing the growing spectrum demand for wireless broadband’. Link: https://circabc.europa.eu/sd/d/9367e691- df81-408c-a17e-ef895449bd7f/RSPG13-511_Rev1_Draft%20Opinion%20Wireless%20Broadband.pdf38 ‘RSPG opinion on strategic challenges facing Europe in addressing the growing spectrum demand for wireless broadband’. Link: https://circabc.europa.eu/sd/d/9367e691- df81-408c-a17e-ef895449bd7f/RSPG13-511_Rev1_Draft%20Opinion%20Wireless%20Broadband.pdf

23

EU member states

Various EU member states have in included the L-band within their spectrum strategies for the shorter term.

Denmark: in the 2011 public consultation document entitled ’A strategy to find an extra 600MHz for broadband’39, the Danish regulator proposed the availability of the L-Band by 2014. Additional adjacent spectrum (61MHz in total) is also being considered in the 2016 timeframe.

Ireland: The ComReg 2011-2013 spectrum management strategy40 considers L-Band assignments as an option for the near term.

Sweden: The Post and Telecommunications Authority (PTS) is considering releasing the L-Band in the near term as part of its ambitious plan to release more than 500MHz in five years.41

UK: L-band (1452-1492 MHz) was awarded to Qualcomm UK Spectrum Limited in 2008, initially meant for MediaFLO mobile TV technology, which was suitable for a range of applications, including the SDL.

European Conference of Postal and Telecommunications Administrations (CEPT)

L-Band was initially allocated to broadcasting, fixed and mobile services (except for aeronautical mobile service), with limited exceptions across the EU. In the Union, there are two segments of L-band:

• Terrestrial: The Maastricht Arrangement originally identified 1452-1479.5 MHz (27.5MHz) for terrestrial Digital Audio Broadcasting (DAB). The Constance Revision (MA02revCO07)42, which extends use to terrestrial mobile multimedia systems (also providing the associated band plan), makes the Mobile/Fixed Communications Networks (MFCN) SDL application compatible with existing regulations

• Satellite: In its decision DEC(03)02, the ECC designated 1479.5–1492 MHz (12.5MHz) for satellite usage (S-DAB), but this was withdrawn by the ECC in June 201343

Licenses have been assigned in some member states but no significant commercial services are being offered.

Consequently, the ECC began, in late 2010, a review process for the future efficient use of this spectrum, establishing the FM 50 Project Team in 2011 for this purpose.

ECC Report 18844, published in February 2013, identified SDL (which is compatible with current L-Band regulation) as the most suitable application among various candidate applications.

In May 2013, the ECC’s Working Group on Frequency Management (WG FM) approved for consultation the draft ECC decision defining “a harmonised framework for the MFCN SDL in the 1452-1492 MHz frequency band”. This decision45 designates the L-Band for MFCN SDL46. It also defines the Least-Restrictive Technical Conditions (LRTC) with a harmonised band plan for the 1452-1492 MHz band, based on eight blocks of 5MHz. The L-Band regulatory framework is due to be adopted in November 2013.

The 3rd Generation Partnership Project (3GPP)

The 3GPP is now starting its work on the L-Band. It aims to define the FDD DL-only radio requirements with possible band combinations for aggregation with conventional primary carriers for LTE and HSPA47 (the first two combinations are: LTE800 MHz with L-Band SDL and UMTS 2.1GHz with L-Band SDL). The partnership plans to finalise this work by June 2014.

Another example of an LTE SDL has already been standardised for the US market (AT&T MediaFLO downlink spectrum, 716-728 MHz, 3GPP band 29).


Mar „11

ECC WG FM PT50 established. Socio-economic study for L-Band best use

May „11

ECC survey on L-band (Huawei responded)

ECC Report 188 published Mobile SDL selected as

preferred app. for the L-Band

Nov „12

ECC Decision published (band plan, LSTC, BEM)

3GPP L-Band WI completed

L-Band devices 1st auctions in EU

Jan „15

IMT identification at WRC-15

Nov „15

L-Band Multimedia SDL expected timelines.

Nov„13

Jun „14

L-Band Multimedia SDL expected timelines.

39 www.borger.dk/Lovgivning/Hoeringsportalen/Sider/Fakta.aspx?hpid=2146002605.40 Review of the period 2008–2010 & proposed strategy for managing the radio spectrum: 2011-2013’. Link: www.comreg.ie/publications/review_of_the_pe riod_2008___2010_and_proposed_strategy_for_managing_the_radio_spectrum__2011___2013_.583.103847.p.html36 ITU-R Region 1 is made up of Europe, the Middle East and Africa, the Russian Federation and Mongolia. Region 2 comprises the Americas, Greenland and some of the eastern Pacific Islands. Region 3 covers most of non-Russian Asia, east of and including Iran, and most of Oceania.41 PTS spectrum orientation plan’. Link: www.pts.se/upload/Ovrigt/Radio/draft-orientation-plan-121011.pdf.42 Final acts of the CEPT multilateral meeting for the frequency band 1452-1479.5 MHz’. Link: /www.cept.org/files/1051/Topics/Broadcasting/T-DAB/MA02revCO07/final%20 acts%20MA02revCO07.pdf43 ECC Decision (13)02. Link: www.erodocdb.dk/Docs/doc98/official/pdf/ECCDEC1302.PDF44 Future harmonised use of 1452-1492 MHz in CEPT’. Link: http://www.erodocdb.dk/Docs/doc98/official/pdf/ECCREP188.PDF45 http://www.cept.org/Documents/fm-50/11140/FM50(13)011_Annex-4_Draft-ECC-DEC-on-L-band-use46 The draft ECC Decision does not prevent administrations from using parts of the band for terrestrial broadcasting, aeronautical telemetry, MFCN other than SDL or other terrestrial applications to adapt to national circumstances.47 The related functional support for downlink Carrier Aggregation is available in HSPA from Rel-9 and LTE from Release 10.

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3.2. 2GHz MSS band (1980-2010 // 2170-2200 MHz)

In Europe, the 2GHz MSS band has been allocated to Mobile Satellite Service (MSS) since 2006, but no significant commercial rollout has taken place so far. The European Commission is keen to identify the most efficient utilisation of this portion of spectrum, with terrestrial mobile broadband services the most promising candidates. Terrestrial mobile network infrastructure and end-user equipment implementation will certainly be relatively simple for the 2GHz MSS band because this portion of spectrum is contiguous to the IMT 2GHz core band with identical duplex spacing.


2GHz MSS Band for mobile broadband.

190MHz duplex spacing

2GHz MSS Band for mobile broadband.

The need for new spectrum allocations for terrestrial mobile broadband services, the straightforward implementation of terrestrial networks and devices in the 2GHz MSS band, and the potential for new business models should propel discussions and decisions in this area.



The ITU’s World Administrative Radio Conference Geneva 1992 (WARC-92) globally allocated the bands 1980-2010 MHz (Earth-to-space) / 2170-2200 MHz (space-to-Earth) to the mobile-satellite on a co-primary basis with fixed and mobile services (satellite component of IMT-2000).

The European Union

A 2006 ECC decision48 designated the frequency bands 1980-2010 MHz (Earth-to-space) and 2170-2200 MHz (space-to-Earth) to MSS systems which may incorporate a Complementary Ground Component (CGC) which cannot be operated as a stand-alone, terrestrial-only network. Several conditions have been introduced to define the mandatory relationship between the satellite component and the CGC, addressing possible competition issues with terrestrial mobile operators. MSS include high-speed internet access, mobile television and radio or emergency communications. The introduction of MSS systems should ensure their compatibility with terrestrial services operating in adjacent bands.


MSS System (Mobile Satellite Services System)

Satellite Component CGC (Complementary Ground Component)

MSS System definition. MSS system definition.

48 ECC/DEC/(06)09. Link: www.erodocdb.dk/docs/doc98/official/pdf/ECCDec0609.pdf

25

A 2007 EC decision addressed the need for harmonised European standards on the availability and efficient use of the 2GHz frequencies by MSS systems. The decision49 set July 2007 as the deadline for member states to designate and make such frequencies available. In 2008, a European Parliament and Council decision50 established a single “comparative selection procedure” at EU level to ensure the coordinated introduction of MSS in the EU. In 2009, the Commission selected51 Inmarsat Ventures Limited and Solaris Mobile Limited as the two pan-European MSS operators, granting them the right to apply for national authorisations for 2x15MHz licences. EU member states are required to assign specific national MSS authorisations to allow the selected operators to operate for 18 years from the selection decision. Selected operators were obliged to start operations by May 2011.

Significantly, a European Commission Decision from 201152 seeks to ensure greater coordination among member states when it comes to the enforcement of the current licensee’s obligations, including harmonised procedures of licence withdrawal, for cases when it is necessary. The European Commission Communications Committee (COCOM) working group on MSS53 is focusing on the coordinated enforcement action foreseen in this decision.

EU member states

There is a wide range of approaches to the authorisation of both the satellite and the CGC components. Not all member states have regulations in place. Authorisations have not been issued in some member states, even when national regulations exist. In addition, assigned authorisations may differ greatly among countries (in terms of the requirements for the CGC, licence fees, etc.).54


As implied by The Electronic Communications Committee Decision from 200655, the CEPT and the ETSI have been addressing the technical conditions to make MSS user terminals compatible with UMTS systems operating in adjacent bands.


The 3GPP is carrying out studies on the applicability of LTE-FDD in the 1980-2010 // 2170-2200 MHz paired band for South Korea and Europe.

With reference to the North American market, 3GPP Band 23 (2000-2020 // 2180-2200 MHz) was defined in December 2011.

The rest of the world

USA: In line with the US National Broadband Plan, the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) has removed restrictions on MSS spectrum in the 2GHz range in order to allow for future use by terrestrial wireless broadband services. The operator, Dish Networks, has applied for an FCC waiver to operate a national, terrestrial-only LTE-Advanced system in its recently acquired 2GHz spectrum.


S-Band

2GHz AWS and MSS band plan in the US. 2GHz AWS and MSS band plan in the US.

Japan: A new study on the 1980-2010 // 2170-2200 MHz band56 was kicked off in January 2013 by the Information and Communications Council (MIC ICC). The final radio technical requirements are due out in 2015, with preliminary output on future usage to be released this year.South Korea: The MSS 1980-2010 // 2170-2200 MHz band will be used to accommodate growing mobile broadband traffic.

49 European Commission Decision 2007/98/EC. Link: http://eur-lex.europa.eu/LexUriServ/LexUriServ.do?uri=OJ:L:2007:043:0032:0034:EN:PDF.50 European Parliament and Council Decision 626/2008/EC. Link: http://eur-lex.europa.eu/LexUriServ/LexUriServ.do?uri=OJ:L:2008:172:0015:0024:en:PDF51 European Commission Decision 449/2009/EC. Link: http://eur-lex.europa.eu/LexUriServ/LexUriServ.do?uri=OJ:L:2009:149:0065:0068:EN:PDF52 European Commission Decision 2011/667/EU. Link: http://eur-lex.europa.eu/LexUriServ/LexUriServ.do?uri=OJ:L:2011:265:0025:0027:EN:PDF53 Working group on implementation of the regulatory framework for pan-European systems offering mobile satellite service (MSS) in the 2GHz frequency band.54 Detailed assessment in the December 2009 report by Gerald E Oberst, Jr Partner, Hogan Lovells International LLP for the European Commission entitled ‘Study on MSS autho risation regimes and authorisations in the EU member states’.55 ECC/DEC/(06)09. Link: www.erodocdb.dk/docs/doc98/official/pdf/ECCDec0609.pdf56 Although Japan had allocated the 2GHz FDD band for use by mobile satellite systems (MSS), no service is yet in operation.

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3.3. 2300MHz band (2300-2400 MHz)

The 2300MHz band represents the largest near-term opportunity for new LTE spectrum across Europe. As market trends reveal increasing LTE-TDD take-up, the application of LTE-TDD to the 100MHz in the 2300MHz band is a major opportunity for EU member states to improve spectrum utilisation57 and to meet the RSPP 1200MHz objective. Early adopters in Europe will be able to rely on the economies of scale that are now consolidating in other regions.

The 2300MHz band has not yet been harmonised for IMT applications in Europe due to the various incumbent applications. These include airborne, civil and military applications. Huawei is actively contributing to the work currently being carried out in the dedicated ECC Project Team 52 which is defining the harmonisation of this band by June 2014. European regulations for the 2300MHz band should make allowances for MBB operators’ need to acquire at least 20MHz assignments within the same band.

Building on the fact that incumbent users of the 2300MHz band in Europe use this spectrum intermittently, Huawei supports the adoption of the LSA concept here. This would allow, on a shared basis, licensed access to underutilised frequencies in the time, space and frequency domains, enabling predictable quality of service both for incumbent primary users and new LSA licensees. The European administrations that consider the re-farming of incumbent services impractical, or too expensive, in the time available could be given the option to adopt the LSA framework on a voluntary basis.

Huawei is aware of the difficulties that some member states will face in freeing this band. Nevertheless, even the early European adopters will be able to rely on the economies of scale that are now consolidating in other regions thanks to the global identification of the 2300MHz band by the ITU-R for the IMT family of technologies.

The 2300MHz band has already been defined as a 3GPP eUTRAN band (band 40) based on a TDD scheme. First significant rollouts were started by Bharti Airtel in India and STC in Saudi Arabia, while several others have followed.

According to the Global Suppliers Association58, in July 2013, 137 commercial devices supporting the 2300MHz band are now available on the market (out of the 200 devices supporting the LTE-TDD mode globally). These include multi-band and multi-frequency customer premises equipment (CPE), dongles, portable hotspots, tablets and smartphones.

Huawei’s end-to-end solutions have already been adopted to meet the major LTE 2300MHz rollouts around the globe. Based on market requirements, the company is designing specific solutions to exploit the LTE-TDD potential. Huawei is running two large-scale LTE-TDD trials in two major cities in China, involving hundreds of LTE base stations.

Regulatory background


ITU-R’s World Radiocommunication Conference in 2007 identified the 2300MHz band as suitable for the IMT family of technologies in all three ITU-R regions, though this allocation does not preclude national administrations from permitting the deployment of other radio-communication services within this band.59


ITU-R allocations in the 2300MHz band.

ITU-R allocations in the 2300MHz band.

The ITU-R recommends60 the un-paired frequency arrangements for implementation of IMT in the 2300MHz band.

57 With respect to FDD, the TDD technology, with its capability to flexibly set the amount of radio resources to be assigned between the uplink and downlink directions, is especially suitable to serve the asymmetric nature of the internet traffic.58 www.gsacom.com/lte_devices/59 Provision 5.384A of the Radio Regulation states: “The bands, or portions of the bands, 1710-1885MHz, 2300-2400MHz and 2500-2690MHz, are identified for use by administrations wishing to implement IMT in accordance with Resolution 223 (Rev.WRC 07). This identification does not preclude the use of these bands by any application of the services to which they are allocated and does not establish priority in the Radio Regulations (WRC 07)”.60 Recommendation ITU-R M.1036.

27


ITU-R preferred frequency arrangement (M.1036-01 Annex 4). ITU-R preferred frequency arrangement (M.1036-01 Annex 4).

EU member states

Denmark: In May 2011, a public consultation document entitled ‘A strategy to find an extra 600MHz for broadband’61 by the Danish regulator NTIA proposed freeing up the 2300MHz spectrum band by 2015.

Ireland: In its April 2011 consultation, ’Review of the Period 2008-2010 & proposed strategy for managing the radio spectrum: 2011-2013’62, ComReg recognised the “great potential [of the 2300MHz band] to enhance competition and capacity for MBB within Ireland”, once the ECC harmonisation work has been completed. According to the recently closed public consultation on its ‘Draft strategy statement 2012–-2014’63, ComReg will develop a new consultation on the future release of the 2.3GHz band, which will also include economic analysis of the types of competitive awards, fees and licence conditions.

Sweden: PTS, the Swedish regulator, is considering the 2300MHz band in its road map for the release of more than 500MHz of “new” spectrum. PTS has been planning to release the 2300MHz band for some time. Depending on market demand, spectrum could be auctioned as soon as the ECC harmonisation work is completed. A first public consultation64 on the subject was held in November 2010. A more recent consultation65 addressing technical issues related to the 2300MHz band (such as coexistence matters, band plan, etc.) was closed in February 2012.

UK: As part of the government’s plans to release 500MHz of spectrum below 5GHz by 202066, the Ministry of Defence intends to open up some military frequency bands for new sharing opportunities for public and private sector users. Among the bands under consideration, the 2300MHz band (2310-2400 MHz) is considered as a “prioritised band for release”, and an auction could take place in 2014.

The European Telecommunications Standards Institute

ETSI’s efforts to develop a harmonised European framework for the 2300MHz band began in 2010. Its Technical Committee for Electromagnetic Compatibility and Radio Spectrum Matters (ETSI TC ERM) issued a system reference document (SRdoc) entitled ’Broadband wireless systems in the 2300MHz to 2400MHz range’ in August 201026. This technical report informed the work of the ECC, providing guidance on band arrangements, operator block sizes, any inter-service or inter-operator spectrum management measures.


The ECC’s Working Group on Frequency Management (WG FM) has shared the results of a questionnaire67 it sent out to European administrations with a view to better assessing current national utilisations and plans, before starting work on defining a future framework for 2300MHz. The questionnaire received significant attention, eliciting 40 responses. The results are summed up below:

Current utilisation: 27 countries currently use all or parts of the band for Programme-Making and Special Events (PMSE) applications. Other considerable purposes to which the band is put include amateur services, aeronautical telemetry, governmental and military use, mobile applications, and fixed links.

Future plans: 17 countries plan to allow the use of all or part of the frequency band by International Mobile Telecommunications broadband wireless access, Broadband Wireless Systems, mobile applications, or to introduce the concept of technology and service neutrality. In addition, 12 countries stated that they have no plan to change current utilisation.

The ECC’s Project Team FM 52 (‘2.3GHz & LSA’) was established in February 201368 to develop the outlines of an ECC Decision on the harmonised technical conditions for mobile/fixed communications networks in the 2300-2400 MHz range, including the regulatory provisions for LSA implementation in the band. (deadline: June 2014). The team will also formulate recommendation for cross-border coordination for MFCN in the 2300MHz band. The Project Team has agreed on the TDD frequency arrangement: 20 TDD blocks of 5 MHz. The LRTC are being developed in cooperation with ECC PT1. As for the guidelines to administrations wishing to maintain long-term incumbent use of the band, the Project Team will not develop harmonised provisions for sharing as hard limits (such as separation distances) which will be defined at national level. FM 52 expects guidance on the definition, description and regulatory aspects of LSA from Project Team FM 53 working on the LSA framework. Project Team FM 52 has identified the following incumbent/other uses of the band to be addressed in the implementation of LSA:

• Telemetry (both terrestrial and aeronautical telemetry)

• Other governmental use (such as Unmanned Aircraft Systems, UAS)

61 https://www.borger.dk/Lovgivning/Hoeringsportalen/Sider/Fakta.aspx?hpid=2146002605.\62 www.comreg.ie/_fileupload/publications/ComReg1128.pdf.63 www.comreg.ie/_fileupload/pubblications/Comreg1237.pdf64 www.pts.se/en-gb/Documents/Consultations/200/Public-consultation-regarding-planned-radio-use-in-the-23-GHz-band/.65 www.pts.se/en-gb/Documents/Consultations/2012/1Consultation-regarding-planned-radio-use-in-the-23-GHz-band/.66 www.gov.uk/sharing-defence-spectrum67 http://www.cept.org/ecc/tools-and-services/ecc-questionnaires/list-of-finalised-questionnaires-2010-2011.68 WG FM PT52 terms of reference are available at: www.cept.org/ecc/groups/ecc/wg-fm/fm-52/page/terms-of-reference

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• SAB/SAP (including ENG/OB)

• Possibility to apply the LSA regime for cordless cameras incumbent users (proposed by The Netherlands)

• Amateur secondary services

Existing Fixed Services (FS) use may be addressed through means other than LSA (including spectrum re-farming).

The ETSI’s systems reference document of August 2010 prompted ECC efforts to ensure greater compatibility of broadband wireless services, including mobile broadband, with existing services in the 2300MHz band and in adjacent bands. An ECC report entitled ‘Broadband Wireless Systems for 2300-2400 MHz’69 was approved in March 2012 covering:

• Compatibility between BWS and existing se rvices (in-band and out-of band)

• Compatibility between adjacent BWS operators

• Cross-border coordination measures


The 2300MHz band is already specified as a 3GPP band for LTE-TDD since LTE Release 8.


E-UTRA Operating

Band

Uplink (UL) operating band BS receive, UE transmit

Downlink (DL) operating band BS transmit, UE receive Duplex

Mode FUL_low – FUL_high FDL_low – FDL_high

40 2300 MHz – 2400 MHz 2300 MHz – 2400 MHz TDD

3GPP TS 36.104 V8.1.0 (2008-03). 3GPP TS 36.104 V8.1.0 (2008-03).

Intra-band Carrier Aggregation (CA) within the 2300MHz was already specified in 3GPP Release 10, while inter-band CA involving the 2300MHz band has not been specified at this time.

3.4. 3400-3600 and 3600-3800 MHz bands

Given current traffic requirement trends, operators are increasingly looking to heterogeneous networks in which the wide-area coverage layers are integrated with other layers of ‘small cells’ providing additional capacity where needed. The 3400-3800 MHz range is ideal for such focused coverage. This is due to its large span of contiguous spectrum and its reduced coverage capability, which improves the interference management associated with denser cellular topologies. The 3400-3800 MHz range will also be exploited for macro cell coverage also addressing the backhaul application although many EU member states have auctioned the 3400-3600 MHz spectrum for WiMAX technologies, operators are now preparing for a future transition to LTE. Fewer auctions have taken place so far in the 3600-3800 MHz range. This band has potential to become globally harmonised in the longer term, with at least 50MHz allocated in each ITU-R region in the shorter term. Parallel discussions on a harmonised band plan are taking place at the ITU-R, 3GPP and CEPT.

The availability of the 3400-3800 MHz range is essential for the fulfilment of the ‘1200MHz objective’, as defined in the RSPP Article 370.

In response to a mandate from the European Commission71, the CEPT (ECC Project Team 1) has finalised its draft report providing updated Block Edge Mask for the 3400-3600 MHz and for the 3600-3800 MHz bands, and updated views on the channelling arrangements for the 3400-3600 MHz band.

69 http://www.erodocdb.dk/Docs/doc98/official/pdf/ECCREP172.PDF.70 European Parliament and Council Decision 243/2012/EU of 14 March 2012 establishing a multiannual radio spectrum policy programme Link: http://eur-lex.europa.eu/ LexUriServ/LexUriServ.do?uri=OJ:L:2012:081:0007:0017:EN:PDF71 ‘Mandate to CEPT to undertake studies on amending the technical conditions regarding spectrum harmonisation in the 3400-3800 MHz frequency band’ - RSCOM12-09 rev2.

29

Both the TDD and the FDD band plans are viable options for the 3400-3600 MHz band. Huawei believes that operators and regulators are in the best position to select the most appropriate band plan(s) based on market and regulatory conditions. From a technical point of view, Huawei holds that there are some reasons for which the TDD band plan might be preferable, including the flexible support of unbalanced traffic and the advantages in the implementation of advanced antenna systems. In terms of overall economies of scale, the selection of one single harmonised band plan (either TDD or FDD) should be the final outcome of this debate.


Current ECC Frequency arrangements for the 3400-3600 MHz and for the 3600-3800 MHz bands.

3600 3800 5 5 5 5 5 5 5 5 5 5 5 5 5 5 5 5 5 5 5 5 5 5 5 5 5 5 5 5 5 5 5 5 5 5 5 5 5 5 5 5 5 5 5 5 5 5 5 5 5 5 5 5 5 5 5 5 5 5 5 5 5 5 5 5 5 5 5 5 5 5 5 5 5 5 5 5 5 5 5 5 5 5 5 5 5 5 5 5 5 5 5 5 5 5 5 5 5 5 5 5 5 5 5 5 5 5 5 5 5 5 5 5 5 5 5 5 5 5 5 5 5 5 5 5 5 5 5 5 5 5 5 5 5 5 5 5 5 5 5 5 5 5 5 5 5 5 5 5 5 5 5 5 5 5 5 5 5 5 5 5 5 5 5 5 5 5 5 5 5 5 5 5 TDD

5 5 5 5 5 5 5 5 5 5 5 5 5 5 5 5 5 5 5 5 5 5 5 5 5 5 5 5 5 5 5 5 Uplink Duplex Gap Downlink

3410 3490 3510 3590

3400 3600

FDD option

3400 3600

5 5 5 5 5 5 5 5 5 5 5 5 5 5 5 5 5 5 5 5 5 5 5 5 5 5 5 5 5 5 5 5 5 5 5 5 5 5 5 5 5 5 5 5 5 5 5 5 5 5 5 5 5 5 5 5 5 5 5 5 5 5 5 5 5 5 5 5 5 5 5 5 5 5 5 5 5 5 5 5 5 5 5 5 5 5 5 5 5 5 5 5 5 5 5 5 5 5 5 5 5 5 5 5 5 5 5 5 5 5 5 5 5 5 5 5 5 5 5 5 5 5 5 5 5 5 5 5 5 5 5 5 5 5 5 5 5 5 5 5 5 5 5 5 5 5 5 5 5 5 5 5 5 5 5 5 5 5 5 5 5 5 5 5 5 5 5 5 5 5 5 5 TDD option

Current ECC frequency arrangements for the 3400-3600 MHz and for the 3600-3800 MHz bands.

The Draft ECC Report has been approved for public consultation by the ECC, and the final version should be released in November 2013. Formal revision of the associated ECC-Decision (11)06 could be initiated at the next ECC PT1 meeting (Ljubljana, September 2013).

Notwithstanding significant regulatory efforts for the availability of the 3400-3800 MHz range in Europe, even though efforts are ongoing for the transition to LTE systems. In our view, no major market take-up has been observed yet. Now we will consider the key factors behind this situation and how this will be resolved in the coming years.

• Fragmentation: The 3400-3600 MHz spectrum was assigned in 17 CEPT countries while the 3600-3800 MHz spectrum was assigned in just 8. According to the ECO Report 0372, individual usage rights in the 3400-3600 MHz band have been awarded to more than 100 operators in 23 European countries, with regional licences assigned in most cases. Future regulatory decisions will have to consider the need to involve operators that can exploit larger spectrum assignments on the whole national territory, better driving a large-scale ecosystem

• Alternatives: In recent years, mobile broadband operators acquired a number of spectrum resources in other bands (re-farmed spectrum, as well as new spectrum in the 800MHz and 2600MHz bands). As spectrum utilisation in the 400MHz-6GHz range increases, such broad availability of alternative new MBB spectrum will shrink. The market will then shift its attention to the next available band in the 3GHz range

• Uncertainties: A Block Edge Mask (BEM) for the bands 3400-3600 MHz and 3600-3800 MHz was introduced through a European Commission decision in 200873, with a focus on fixed IMT services relying on narrower channel bandwidths. The December 2011 ECC Decision74 foresees two different band plans (TDD and FDD) for the 3400-3600 MHz band. The upshot of this is that a consolidated ecosystem around a specific harmonised band plan has not emerged.

The above issues have led to a shortfall in the number of available end-user devices, such as smartphones and tablets, for the 3400-3800 MHz frequency range. The ongoing work at the CEPT, which aims to develop improved harmonised conditions which take account of the latest IMT developments and scenarios, as well as the extensive discussions taking place globally on the future availability of the 3400-4200 MHz range (different portions of spectrum considered in different regions at this time) will facilitate market take-up and economies of scale for the 3400-3800 MHz bands in Europe in the coming years.

The European Commission and member states should facilitate the transition from the current status (3400-3800 MHz frequencies have already been assigned in various European countries for Broadband Wireless Access services) towards the future availability of larger channels for MBB operators (such as 100MHz assignments for each operator).

The next chapter will address the possible future availability of the 3800-4200 MHz range in Europe in the context of the WRC-15 preparatory work on Agenda Item 1.1.

72 ECO Report 03: ‘The licensing of “Mobile bands” in CEPT’ Link: www.cept.org/eco/deliverables/eco-reports73 European Commission Decision 2008/411/EC. Link: http://eur-lex.europa.eu/LexUriServ/LexUriServ.do?uri=OJ:L:2008:144:0077:0081:EN:PDF74 ECC Decision (11)06. Link: www.erodocdb.dk/docs/doc98/official/pdf/ECCDec1106.pdf

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International Telecommunication Union

The World Radiocommunication Conference in 2007 (WRC-07) allocated the 3400-3600 MHz band to mobile services on a primary basis and identified75 this band for IMT on a primary basis in 41 European countries, and 40 others in ITU-R Region 1 (Europe, the Middle East and Africa). The WRC-07 also allocated the 3600-3800 MHz band for mobile service on a secondary basis.

The European Union

The European Commission Decision 2008/411/EC of May 2008 sets out a harmonised framework allowing IMT in the whole 3400-3800 MHz range. It defines the in-band and out-of-band emission limits (BEMs, which are currently being revised by CEPT) for fixed, nomadic and mobile applications. ECC/REC/(04)05 provides harmonised band plans (both FDD and TDD are permitted).

The European Commission issued a mandate76 in March 2012 to CEPT to determine technical conditions for spectrum harmonisation for terrestrial wireless systems in the 3400-3800 MHz frequency bands, as well as to review and amend the existing technical conditions for the harmonised use of the 3400-3800 MHz frequency band in light of the latest technological developments, in particular the availability of larger bandwidths. The Commission will review the relevant EC Decision based on the CEPT’s findings and recommendations.

EU member states

The majority of EU national authorities already license the 3400-3600 MHz band for Broadband Wireless Access / Fixed Wireless Access, while some countries allow mobile use. Either national or regional licenses are adopted depending on the specific country. A limited number of administrations have assigned individual usage rights in the 3600-3800 MHz band. There are diverse implementations of BWA/FWA within 3400-3800 MHz in CEPT countries, including some IMT systems. This is reflected in the variety of licensing coverage (national and regional) and of the range of frequency block choices (different portions of the 3400-3800 MHz band). Moreover, paired blocks are used or planned to be used in TDD mode in some countries.


Some CEPT countries use the 3400-3800 MHz band (especially the 3600-3800 MHz portion) for fixed satellite services. In these cases, coordination with such satellite services would be necessary.

The possibility of a preferred channelling arrangement for the 3400-3600 MHz was recently re-discussed by the ECC. It expressed a slight preference for TDD as the optimal frequency arrangement, with FDD as an alternative. ECC invites additional views before taking a final decision on a preferred frequency arrangement at the next ECC meeting.

Two options are currently envisaged for the 3400-3600 MHz band channel arrangement:

• Preferred TDD arrangement with FDD as the alternative

• Both TDD and FDD arrangements at equal levels

ECC REC(04)0577 covers point-to-multipoint fixed wireless systems. It allows the possibility to mix FDD and TDD blocks, channel widths designed to fit 3.5MHz and 7MHz channels. This recommendation defines the emission requirements in the form of BEM for fixed and nomadic scenarios.

ECC Decision (07)0278 designates the 3400-3800 MHz band for Broadband Wireless Access deployment, providing conditions for “flexible usage modes within authorised BWA deployments” which may include fixed, nomadic and mobile services. The document does not choose a specific duplex technology and does not provide a harmonised band plan.

ECC Decision (11)0679 focuses primarily on mobile usage, providing two possible band plans (a 200MHz TDD plan, and 2x80 MHz FDD) for the 3400-3600 MHz band, while a 200MHz TDD-only band plan is proposed for the 3600-3800 MHz range, with channel widths to be multiples of 5MHz.

The ECC is currently updating the framework for the use of this band to respond to the requirement of future usage of IMT systems with larger bandwidth in this frequency band. In response to a mandate from the European Commission80, the CEPT (ECC PT1) has finalised its draft report providing updated BEM for the 3400-3600 MHz and for the 3600-3800 MHz bands81. In addition, it has updated its views on the channelling arrangements for the 3400-3600 MHz band.

The existing 3.5GHz BEM (as defined in ECC REC(04)05) is justified in situations where there are no commonly agreed band plans and maximum flexibility is needed. When band plans are available and have been adopted, there is no need for the unnecessarily tight BEM but it should be adjusted to the more harmonised conditions. This would help make equipment more affordable and maximise spectrum efficiency (for example, by reduced guard bands).

75 ITU-R Footnote 5.430A was developed by WRC-2007 and addresses the band 3400 – 3600 MHz in several countries.76 ‘Mandate to CEPT to undertake studies on amending the technical conditions regarding spectrum harmonisation in the 3400-3800 MHz frequency band’ - RSCOM12-09 rev2.77 ‘Guidelines for accommodation and assignment of multipoint fixed wireless systems in frequency bands 3.4-3.6 GHz and 3.6-3-8 GHz’78 ‘Availability of frequency bands between 3400-3800 MHz for the harmonised implementation of Broadband Wireless Access systems (BWA)’.79 ECC Decision (11)06 ‘Harmonised frequency arrangements for mobile/fixed communications networks (MFCN) operating in the bands 3400-3600 MHz and 3600-3800 MHz’ www.erodocdb.dk/docs/doc98/official/pdf/ECCDec1106.pdf80 RSCOM12-09rev2: ‘Mandate to CEPT to undertake studies on amending the technical conditions regarding spectrum harmonisation in the 3400-3800 MHz frequency band’81 ECC has recognised that the development of this BEM was primarily focused on systems intended for fixed services, such as fixed wireless systems.

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3rd Generation Partnership Project (3GPP)

The 3400-3600 MHz band and the 3600-3800 MHz band have been specified by the 3GPP since LTE Release 10 of March 2011.82 In line with the status of ECC PT1 work, both TDD and FDD band plan arrangements are currently foreseen for the 3400-3600 MHz band, while a TDD-only band plan is foreseen for the 3600-3800 MHz band.


E-UTRA Operating

Band

Uplink (UL) operating band BS receive, UE transmit

Downlink (DL) operating band BS transmit , UE receive Duplex

Mode FUL_low – FUL_high FDL_low – FDL_high

22 3410 MHz – 3490 MHz 3510 MHz – 3590 MHz FDD



3GPP TS 36.104 V10.4.0 (2011-09). 3GPP TS 36.104 V10.4.0 (2011-09).

82 3GPP TS 36.104 V10.4.0 (2011-09).

32

Chapter 4 WRC-15: spectrum for the longer term

The World Radiocommunications Conference in 2015 represents a golden opportunity to lay the groundwork for the evolution of 5G networks and their associated technologies.

The International Telecommunication Union’s Radiocommunication Sector (ITU-R) is responsible for coordinating the international use of the radio spectrum. It holds the World Radiocommunication Conferences (WRC) every three or four years to review and revise the radio regulations governing the use of radio-frequency spectrum. The development of IMT networks around the world has progressed based on the decisions taken at the WRCs in the past 20 years.

The WRC-15, which will take place in Geneva between 2 and 27 November 2015, represents an opportunity which cannot be missed. The decisions it will take, or not take, on spectrum will have a fundamental impact on the development of the mobile telecommunications market well beyond 2020. The future technology and network evolution of LTE-Advanced, as well as the emerging 5G mobile communication systems, depend on this global conference.


WARC-1992

WRC-2007

WRC- 1995

WRC- 1997

WRC- 2012

WRC- 2018-19

WRC-2000

WRC- 2003

Typically 5~7 years between ITU-R identification & corresponding IMT deployment.

IMT-2000 spectrum (“Core Bands”): • 1885-2025 MHz • 2110-2200 MHz Incl. 2.1GHz FDD & 2GHz TDD

Additional IMT-2000 spectrum : • 806-960 MHz Incl. GSM 900 band • 1710-1985 MHz Incl. GSM 1800 band • 2500-2690 MHz worldwide

IMT (IMT-2000 & IMT-A) spectrum: • 450-470 MHz worldwide • 698-806 MHz Reg. 2 • 698-862 MHz Reg. 3 countries • 790-806 MHz Reg. 3 countries • 2300-2400 MHz worldwide • 790 – 862 MHz Reg. 1 • 3400-3600 MHz Reg. 1 & 3 countries

Additional IMT spectrum: AI 1.2: 694-790 MHz Reg. 1 AI 1,1 candidate bands 5G spectrum

ITU-R WRCs’ identifications for IMT.

WRC-2015

ITU-R WRCs’ identifications for IMT.

EU regulators are busy hammering out common European proposals for the two conference agenda items related to the IMT spectrum.


“To consider additional spectrum allocations to the mobile service on a primary basis and identification of additional frequency bands for International Mobile Telecommunications (IMT) and related regulatory provisions, to facilitate the development of terrestrial mobile broadband

applications, in accordance with Resolution 233 (WRC-12)”

“To examine the results of ITU-R studies, in accordance with Resolution 232 (WRC-12), on the use of the frequency band 694-790 MHz by the mobile, except aeronautical mobile service in

Region 1 and take the appropriate measures”

ITU-R WRC-5 Agenda Items related to new spectrum identifications for IMT.

WRC-15 Agenda Item

1.1

WRC-15 Agenda Item

1.2

ITU-R WRC-5 Agenda Items related to new spectrum identifications for IMT.

33

Given the need to manage the exponential growth in mobile broadband traffic growth and in order to tap into the socio-economic benefits of widening MBB access, Huawei believes that an additional 500 to 1000 MHz should be available for this purpose worldwide.

Such new frequency bands need to be identified within the 400MHz–6GHz range because of the existing technical and economic constraints associated with higher frequency bands (see ITU-R Report M.207483). Frequencies above 6GHz, now subject to intense R&D activities, will be considered after WRC-15, by which time many of the associated technical challenges are expected to have been significantly addressed.

The table below84 illustrates the frequency bands that Huawei considers strong candidates for the WRC-15.85


Additional MBB spectrum to become available after 2016 as a result of WRC-15. Additional MBB spectrum to become available after 2016 as a result of WRC-15.

4.1. 470-694 MHz

The future availability of the 470-694 MHz frequencies for mobile broadband services would advance the ambitious Digital Agenda for Europe. This range of the spectrum possesses excellent propagation properties which are suitable for a wide variety of rollouts, from wide-area rural coverage to deep indoor penetration in the urban environment. However, this band is currently used by television, which has prompted a debate on the future of Digital Terrestrial Video Broadcasting (DVB-T).

The adjacency of this frequency range to other bands (namely, the 450-470 MHz and 694-960 MHz bands) which have already been identified for IMT for ITU-R Region 1 (Europe, the Middle East and Africa) would facilitate the implementation of mobile broadband networks in the 470-694 MHz range. Site infrastructure synergies could be exploited and common RF components may be reused (such as base stations’ and end-user devices, amplifiers and antennas).

End-user behaviour is converging. Today, it is all about seamless video content distribution across multiple devices (TV sets, smartphones, tablets, etc.) and distribution platforms (wireless terrestrial, wired terrestrial and satellite). Broadcasters and mobile broadband operators would certainly benefit in the longer term from a gradual elimination of redundant wireless terrestrial distribution platforms by moving towards a common and flexible platform. Once such strategic decisions have been made, spectrum decisions in the 470-694 MHz will become a straightforward consequence.

83 ITU-R Report M.2074: http://www.itu.int/dms_pub/itu-r/opb/rep/R-REP-M.2074-2006-PDF-E.pdf84 The frequency ranges in the table may include possible guard bands and duplex gaps.85 The table provides information on the expected duplexing scheme based on Huawei’s understanding. Channelling arrangements will not be in the scope of AI 1.1 (the WRC- 15 will only define the channeling arrangement for the 700MHz band under AI 1.2).

34


(*) eMBMS would ned to be adapted for high power

Mobile & Terrestrial TV today: TWO separate networks

Mobile & Terrestrial TV tomorrow: ONE converged network

Mobile broadband and TV future network convergence. Mobile broadband and TV future network convergence.

From the technological perspective, mobile technologies already have the capabilities to become the converged network supporting both broadcasting and MBB services.86 LTE can provide both linear and non-linear TV services (such as for Video on Demand), including in a mobile environment.

Bandwidth-hungry TV services, such as ultra-high definition television (UHDTV) and three-dimensional television (3DTV), will increasingly rely on other available platforms, such as conventional copper and fibre-optic lines (xDSL, PON, etc.), as well as satellite.

Europe’s transition from analogue TV to digital terrestrial television (DVB-T) was the key enabler for the availability of the 800MHz band (790-862 MHz) for mobile broadband services. Similarly, the transition to more advanced broadcasting schemes and technologies (single-frequency networks, the DVB-T2 signal transmission standard and MPEG-4 and newer video compression schemes) would significantly reduce broadcasting spectrum requirements and facilitate the convergence process.


The International Telecommunication Union

The ITU-R has primarily allocated the 470-694 MHz range to broadcasting services, while some regions have also allocated it to mobile services.

ITU-R Region 1 (Europe, the Middle East and Africa): Primary allocation to broadcasting and no allocation to mobile services;

ITU-R Region 2 (Americas): Primary allocation to broadcasting and secondary allocation to mobile services in the 470-512 MHz range and in the 614-698 MHz range;

ITU-R Region 3 (most of non-Russian Asia and Oceania): Co-primary allocation to mobile and broadcasting services in the 470-698 MHz range.


BROADCASTING

470

698

BROADCASTING, Mobile

470

698

512

BROADCASTING

608

614

BROADCASTING, Mobile

RADIO ASTRONOMY

584

537

641

BROADCASTING, MOBILE

470

698

REGION 1 (EMEA)

REGION 2 (Americas)

REGION 3 (APAC)

ITU-R Mobile and Broadcasting services allocations in the 470-698 MHz range.

ITU-R mobile and broadcasting services allocations in the 470-698 MHz range.

The European Union

The European Commission is promoting a high-level strategic dialogue among the MBB and broadcasting industries as part of the long-term perspective of converging broadcast and broadband functionality on the same platform.

86 LTE Broadcast over eMBMS and dynamic unicast / broadcast hand-off techniques are supported in since LTE 3GPP Release 10

35

The RSPG discussion paper (RSPG12-425)87 of June 2012 states: “Finding a balance between these different interests and objectives will be difficult and, if it is to be successful, will require a strategic shift in thinking that acknowledges the implications of technological change and the likelihood of convergence.”

EU member states

While the divergent regulatory and market situations in member states need to be considered, decisions need to be taken at the European level.

Germany: Given the fact that video content distribution is largely supported by cable and satellite and that the percentage of households using DVB-T in the 16 Länders (federal states) of Germany is always lower than 25%, Germany is now weighing up the future of DVB-T. In January 2013, the RTL Group (one of Germany’s two leading commercial TV broadcasters) announced it would abandon its current DTT distribution in the country by the end of 2014.

Portugal: The Competition Authority has recently stated that the number of television programme services on the DTT platform should be increased to remain competitive with other television delivery platforms; the authority recognised the fragile advertising market in Portugal as well as the broadcasters’ financial difficulties.

UK: As stated in its UHF Strategy Statement issued in November 2012, Ofcom supports international efforts for the harmonised use of the 700MHz band for mobile broadband services and the use of the 600MHz band by the DTT platform. Further details on Ofcom’s position will be available as result of its consultation on the future utilisation of the 700MHz band, which was closed in July 2013.


In June 2013, the ECC agreed to create a new task group (ECC Task Group 6) to crystallise a long-term vision for the UHF broadcasting band (470-694 MHz) which would complement the studies already underway on the 700MHz band. This group will develop studies to support the development of a strategy for the UHF band in Europe, focusing primarily on technical and regulatory issues, as well as the economic, social and regulatory aspects. The group will consolidate its finding in a dedicated report to be approved for public consultation in the second quarter of 2014.


The USA, with support from Mexico and Canada, supports the Mobile service allocation in the whole 470-698 MHz range (while protecting radio astronomy services in the 608-614 MHz block). The FCC is planning “incentive auctions” for the 600MHz band (572-698 MHz) in 2014.

4.2. 694-790 MHz

In Europe, the 700MHz band will become the most important band for LTE, given its high propagation characteristics and its potential for universal global harmonisation. The release of the 700MHz band for mobile broadband services will be complex, as it will require an additional reduction of the broadcasting spectrum by 30%. There will be impacts on broadcasters which need to be addressed in advance:

• Awareness of the long-term convergence options for mobile broadband and broadcasting platforms

• The adoption of more selective TV reception filters should be encouraged

• Policies should take account of the ongoing TV content distribution migration towards other platforms, such as cooper and fibre-optic lines (xDSL, PON, etc.) as well as satellite

• Migration to more advanced broadcasting schemes and technologies would significantly reduce broadcasting spectrum requirements and facilitate the convergence process. These include Single Frequency Networks (SFNs), the DVB-T2 signal transmission standard and MPEG-4 video compression

A possible spectrum re-farming process will need to be supported by the political decisions promoting migration between the two industries. The ITU GE06 Agreement for Digital Broadcasting will have to be revised to maintain cross-border coordination. While preserving the GE06 principles of bilateral and multilateral negotiations among European countries benefiting from harmonised timelines and based on GE06 procedures seems to be the most promising approach.

As part of the WRC-15 targets (item 1.2 in the conference agenda), the ECC Project Team D (PT D) of the CEPT Conference Preparatory Group (CPG) and the PT188) is debating the channel arrangement and the least-restrictive technical conditions for the future utilisation of the 700 MHz band for mobile broadband services.

87 https://circabc.europa.eu/sd/d/bb24e589-5231-4549-a97e-f453be2612de/RSPG12-425%20-%20Discussion%20Paper%20on%20future%20use%20of%20700MHz.pdf88 www.cept.org/ecc/groups/ecc/ecc-pt1 and www.cept.org/ecc/groups/ecc/cpg/cpg-pt-d

36

To enhance the economies of scale and boost international roaming capabilities, Huawei favours the maximum commonalities with the channel arrangement and with the technical provisions defined by the Asia-Pacific Telecommunity (APT) for the 700MHz FDD band89 in ITU-R Region 3 (most of non-Russian Asia and Oceania). The adoption of the lower duplexer (2x30MHz)90 in the APT 700 FDD band plan seems to be the most appropriate choice for the following reasons:

• Reduced cost of equipment and deployment, thanks to the possibility of leveraging the economies of scale from the devices implementing the APT band plan

• Nearly global international roaming. A device designed according to the APT 700 FDD plan would be able to operate in Asia, Africa, Europe, the Middle East and South America

• Large duplex gap reducing self-interference between handset transmitter and receiver

• Compatibility with the European 800MHz band plan


APT 700 FDD band plan.

APT 700 FDD band plan.


EU 700 band plan (candidate). EU 700 band plan (candidate).

In addition to harmonised channelling arrangements, it is essential to ensure that other technical parameters are addressed consistently at the CEPT and APT. The possibility to have common out-of-band emission limits across CEPT and APT countries is now being discussed extensively.



ITU-R Region 1 (Europe, the Middle East and Africa): The previous World Radiocommunication Conference in 2012 decided to allow co-primary allocation for mobile and broadcasting services. Such allocations will become effective immediately after the WRC-15. The lower edge of the allocation is subject to refinement at WRC-15.

ITU-R Region 2 (the Americas): the 698-806MHz band was allocated to mobile services on a co-primary bases in WRC-07. IMT identification was provided as well.

ITU-R Region 3 (most of non-Russian Asia and Oceania): the 610-890 MHz range was allocated to mobile services on a co-primary basis in WRC-07. IMT identification was provided as well for selected countries.

The following FDD and TDD frequency arrangements were selected in September 2010 for Region 3.


694-790 MHz frequency arrangement of Region 3 (ITU-R M.1036-4).


89 ITU-R REC. M.1036-04.90 2x33MHz band plan is also been considered.

37

The following FDD frequency arrangement was selected for ITU-R Region2 (Americas).




The European Commission has issued CEPT with a mandate91 to determine the technical conditions for wireess broadband and further uses in the 700MHz band (March 2013). This mandate comprises the following three tasks:

Task 1 (Report A): Develop a preferred technical arrangement (including channelling and BEM) for wireless broadband use in the 694-790 MHz frequency band, subject later to a precise definition of the lower band edge under Task 3, as well as PPDR systems that can make use of such technical conditions

Task 2 (Report A): In performing Task 1, study the possibility of identifying suitable spectrum to accommodate incumbent uses in the 694-790 MHz band such as PMSE (in particular wireless microphones), and develop common technical conditions for the coexistence of such uses with wireless BB in the band,

Task 3 (Report B): Taking utmost account of the possibility of international harmonisation, assess the need to refine the conditions developed under Task 2, in particular the common and minimal (least restrictive) technical conditions, in order to ensure that they are sufficiently precise for the development of EU-wide equipment. The overall aim of a coordinated European approach should be considered, as implemented through detailed national decisions on frequency rearrangements in line with international frequency coordination obligations.

The Report A (Tasks 1 & 2) final draft should be available by July 2014 (to be finalised by November 2014) while the Report B (Task 3) final draft should be available by March 2016 (to be finalised by July 2016).

EU member states

Germany (January to May 2013): German TV content distribution relies heavily on alternative platforms (including satellite, cable and DSL). With lower utilisation of the digital terrestrial broadcasting platform compared to some other EU countries, Germany could be one of the earlier adopters of this band. The commercial TV broadcasting RTL had announced that it would exit the DTT platform when its licence expired in May 2013. RTL will remove its television programme services from the DTT platform in Munich92 from August 2013. The German media authority BLM has called for greater co-operation between broadcasters and mobile operators for the provision of video services to mobile services, such as tablets and smartphones. In June 2013, the German Regulator BNetzA started a public consultation93 proposing to make the 700 MHz band available for commercial mobile broadband services from 2017.

Finland (June 2013): Neighbouring Finnish and Russian regulators agreed to coordinate the 700MHz band. Finland and Russia have agreed to an equal division of frequencies in the border area. The final frequency plan will be confirmed by the end of 2013. Finland has recently stated its intention to use the 700 MHz band for mobile broadband services in 2017.

France (May 2013): The French government has announced its decision to auction the 700MHz spectrum for MBB and has asked the French regulator ARCEP to carry out the required public consultations. Auctions could take place as early as 2016.

UK: Ofcom supports the future utilisation of the 700MHz band for mobile broadband and states that a new European frequency coordination agreement will probably not be agreed at the ITU until 2018 at the earliest.


The ECC (PT D and PT1)94 has started work in response to the European Commission mandate on the 700MHz band.

Various channelling arrangements are being assessed for the 694-790 MHz range. These channelling arrangements could potentially both address the Electronic Communications Services (ECS) and other services, such as Public Protection and Disaster Relief (PPDR).

A correspondence group was recently established within ECC PT1 to work on the BEM, including out-of-band emission limits.

ECC PT1 is addressing the possible impact on programme making and special events below 694MHz and the possible identification of spectrum to accommodate PMSE (in particular wireless microphones) in the 694-790 MHz band (either in the centre gap or a relevant guard band).

Cross-border coordination issues will be addressed by the ECC PT1 at a later stage (2014-2015)

91 RSCOM12-37 rev3. Link: https://circabc.europa.eu/d/d/workspace/SpacesStore/6eda88bf-ed1a-4af4-bb26-9f985db5956d/20130312-125805_RSCOM12-37rev3_Manda te_CEPT_700_MHz%20FINAL%20doc.pdf92 The DTT platform is used by 8.5% of the population in Bavaria.93 www.bundesnetzagentur.de/cln_1912/SharedDocs/Pressemitteilungen/DE/2013/130624_MobilesBreitband.html?nn=265778 and www.bundesnetzagentur.de/SharedDocs/ Downloads/DE/Sachgebiete/Telekomm94 www.cept.org/ecc/groups/ecc/ecc-pt1 and www.cept.org/ecc/groups/ecc/cpg/cpg-pt-d

38

3rd Generation Partnership Project (3GPP)

The 3GPP has already defined the 700MHz bands relevant to ITU-R Regions 2 and 3:


Band Name 3GPP Band # UL (MHz) DL (MHz) Duplex

mode Av. BW (MHz)

700 (US - Lower) 12 699 – 716 729 – 746 FDD 2x17

700 (US - AT&T) 13 777 – 787 746 – 756 FDD 2x10

700 (US - Verizon) 14 788 – 798 758 – 768 FDD 2x10

700 (US - PPDR) 17 704 – 716 734 – 746 FDD 2x12

700 SDL (US - AT&T) 29 NA - NA 716 - 728 SDL 12

700 (APT FDD) 28 703 - 748 758 - 803 FDD 2x45

700 (APT TDD) 44 703 - 803 703 - 803 TDD 100

3GPP 70MHz band plans for Region 2 and Region 3 (3GPP Rel. 11 TS 36.104 V11.4.0 (2013-03). 3GPP 700MHz band plans for Region 2 and Region 3 (3GPP Rel. 11 TS 36.104 V11.4.0 (2013-03).


Various countries around the world are in the process of choosing the channel arrangement to be adopted.Countries that have selected the ‘APT 700 FDD’ band plan include: Australia, Brunei, Chile, Colombia, Costa Rica, Ecuador, Indonesia, Malaysia, Mexico, New Zealand, Singapore, Taiwan, the UAE and Venezuela.

Countries that have selected the ’US 700’ band plan: Bolivia, Canada, Puerto Rico and the USA.


Year Milestone

2007 • WRC-07 identifies 108MHz of spectrum (698 – 806 MHz) for mobile services in Region 3

2008 • FCC auctions 700MHz spectrum in the United States

2010 • APT finalises Report 14 on harmonised band plan

2012

• WRC-12 agrees on allocation of services as a co-primary use to broadcasting in Region 1 • September: Mexico announces adoption of APT band plan

2013

• February: EC gives mandate to CEPT to develop harmonised technical conditions for the 700MHz band • March: Anatel (Brazil) holds a public consultatipon on the 700MHz auction. The regulator plans to auction the frequencies

for MBB services in 2014. Anatel has proposed beginning analogue switch-off in 2014 • April: ACMA (Australia) auctions 700MHz band. 90MHz available, 2x30 MHz were sold, ca. 1.4B€ income, 3 bidders: Optus

Mobile, Telstra, TPG Internet, Vodafone Huchison withdrew. Spectrum will become available in 2015 (analogue TV switch-off to be completed within 2013)

• May: TRA (UAE) announces decision on 700MHz band plan • May: Industry Canada announces its plan to auction the 700MHz band in January 2014 • June: New Zealand finalizes the 700MHz auction rules, auction expected in January 2014, 2x45MHz will be auctioned,

frequencies to be available from January 2014

Key milestones for the global 700MHz discussion. Key milestones for the global 700MHz discussion.

4.3. L-band Extensions (1350-1517 MHz)

The World Radiocommunication Conference in 2015 (WRC-15) is likely to extend the available spectrum for the L-Band. Starting from the initial 1452-1492 MHz range, the WRC-15 could allocate, as a first step, an additional 2x25MHz (1375-1400 MHz and 1427-1452MHz). A further 2x25MHz extension (1350-1375 MHz and 1492-1517 MHz) is also being considered for the longer term.

One possible initial outcome could be a resulting 90MHz ’extended L-Band’ which could be used to provide good coverage and downlink capacity complementing the below 1GHz bands.


(L-Band extension

Step 2)

1350

1375

L-Band extension

Step 1

1400

L-Band

1492

1452

(L-Band extension

Step 2)

1517

1427

L-Band extension

Step 1

L-Band extension as WRC-15 candidate band.

Passive EESS

services

L-Band extension as WRC-15 candidate band.

39



Currently allocated by the ITU Radio Regulations (WRC-12 revision) on a primary/secondary basis to mobile, fixed and broadcasting satellite services, this band has potential for both global and regional harmonisation.


Coexistence studies are under way which seek to protect passive (Earth Exploration Satellite Services in the band 1400-1427 MHz) by limiting unwanted emissions limits for mobile stations and base stations. Extensive work has already been carried out in the ECC Spectrum Engineering Working Group addressing the relocation to higher bands of the fixed links which are currently operating in the 1375-1400 MHz and 1427-1452 MHz ranges.

Further work will be carried out on the protection of telemetry systems in the frequency band 1429-1535 MHz and on the protection of military systems in the 1300-1350 MHz, 1375-1400 MHz and 1425-1452 MHz ranges.

4.4. 2700-2900 MHz

The 2700-2900 MHz band is an interesting candidate for future IMT identification at the WRC-15 due to its adjacency to the 2500-2690 MHz range. This would allow for wider assignments across the overall 2500-2900 MHz range95. Lower cost RF components availability would be facilitated by the 2600MHz commercial availability while the rollouts in the 2700-2900 MHz range would leverage on the existing 2600MHz rollouts grid and installation infrastructure.


2700-2900 MHz Band

EU Designation: EC Dec 2008/477/EC 3GPP band 7 (FDD) and 38 (TD)

FDD UL TDD FDD DL

2500

2570

2620

2690

WRC-15 target

2700

2900

The 2500-2900 Mhz range opportunity. The 2500-2900 Mhz range opportunity.

The 2700-2900 MHz range is part of the wider 2700-3400 MHz band, which is used for various types of radar. It is widely accepted that this band is not used very intensively, and new radar technologies and RF filters will reduce the spectrum needed further. It should, therefore, be possible to accommodate all radar spectrum requirements in the 2900-3400 MHz range.

Preliminary analysis shows that the economic benefits that would derive from the availability of the 2700-2900 MHz range would outweigh the costs that would be associated with the re-farming96 of the radar installations operating in these frequencies. Re-farming in Europe could be completed by 2020, greatly benefiting from similar reallocations in the 2600MHz band.



The 2700-2930 MHz spectrum is currently allocated to Aeronautical Radio Navigation Services (ARNS) and radiolocation services, requiring stringent protection criteria.

WRC-07 coexistence studies defined very large exclusion zones. These can be relaxed in future thanks to the experience developed with the same incumbents on the 2600MHz band since 2006.

EU member states

UK: the Government is already considering spectrum release in this band. The Ministry of Defence plans to release up to 100MHz of spectrum in the 2700-3100 MHz band.

95 3GPP bands 7 and 38.96 Including the installation of new receiver filters.

40

4.5. 3800-4200 MHz

With its larger available spectrum, the 3400-4200 MHz range will play a more prominent role in the future, as traffic grows and the frequencies below 3GHz become busier. The shorter electromagnetic propagation distances make these higher frequencies especially suitable for dandified network rollouts where interference could otherwise become unmanageable. Such higher frequencies are set to play a substantial role in the LTE evolution path and in future 5G innovation.

In addition to the densification of macro cell deployment, complementary small cell nodes can be deployed under the coverage of an existing macro cell layer. The small cell nodes provide very high traffic capacity and very high user throughput locally, such as in indoor and outdoor hotspots. Meanwhile, the macro cell layer ensures service availability and quality of experience over the entire coverage area. The various layers will be part of one heterogeneous network where synergies across the coverage layers are exploited and where the different layers may utilise either the same frequencies or different frequencies within the 3800-4200 MHz range.

A portion of the 3800-4200 MHz range could, in a flexible manner, be made available to backhaul end-user traffic using the same frequencies (self-backhauling). The 3400-4200 MHz range can, therefore, support both the mobile access traffic (from the end users to the operators’ access network) as well as the backhaul traffic (as part of the operators transmission network), providing a full ‘turn-key’ solution for small cells within the same band and equipment.

One typical deployment scenario would be in urban or suburban areas for special events, such as football matches and concerts, and in densely populated indoor areas, including train stations and airports.

The 3800-4200 MHz range will exploit the LTE-Advanced channels that are up to 100MHz wide (with Carrier Aggregation of up five 20MHz channels), as well as the even larger 5G channels. LTE-Advanced Release 12 will allow for the aggregation of carriers belonging to radio transmitters from different sites, including the aggregation of macro cell layer carriers with carriers from the small cell layer (inter-site CA).

The 3GPP’s LTE-Advanced Release 12 will be the standard reference for the 3800-4200 MHz band. The work on Release 12 began in September 201297 and specifications will be frozen by June 2014. Thereafter, the first devices will become available in 2015, while more advanced devices implementing a broader number of features will be available in 2016 (including 100MHz channel support). End-users’ demand for ubiquitous connectivity with consistent quality of experience throughout the entire coverage area (‘cell-edge-free’) requires adequate LTE evolution, in terms of both features and topology. Release 12 is distinguished by its small cell enhancements feature, which has been receiving special attention from industry.

In line with extensive discussions taking place across the globe on the future utilisation of the 3400-4200 MHz range, Huawei believes that the identification of the 3800-4200 MHz band for IMT would place Europe in a leading role with a forward-looking strategy for the expansion of mobile broadband services. Such an initiative would complement beautifully EU efforts in 5G-related R&D.

The 3800-4200 MHz range will benefit from the availability of the immediately adjacent 3400-3600 MHz and 3600-3800 MHz bands98, as this will allow for a contiguous spectrum across the whole 3400-4200 MHz range. Such contiguity would facilitate significantly higher throughputs and consistent end-user quality of experience, not to mention the efficient and cost-effective rollout of new network and device technologies.

ITU-R radio regulations allocate the 3800-4200 MHz range to fixed, fixed-satellite (space-to-earth), mobile (except aeronautical) and radiolocation services globally. In developing these standards, particular attention was paid to the coexistence of mobile service and Fixed Satellite Services (FSS).99 Huawei is developing a new coexistence study for IMT mobile broadband and fixed satellite services based on new parameters and a new methodology which takes into account developments since the 2007 edition of the World Radiocommunication Conference.

The variation in the degree of utilisation of these frequencies by FSS systems in each country can be taken into account by individual macro cell rollouts to ensure that proper measures will be taken to ensure smooth coexistence in different situations. Some countries might require parts of this band for the use of incumbent services, but the sheer size of this combined frequency range makes band segmentation, addressing the specific local FSS needs, possible.

97 LTE-Advanced Release 12 is an evolution of LTE (specified within 3GPP Release 8 from March 2009 and Release 9 from March 2010) and of LTE-A (specified within 3GPP Release 10 from June 2011 and Release 11 from March 2013)98 The 3400-3600MHz and the 3600-3800 MHz bands have already been harmonised at the EU level by the ECC Decision (11)06 ‘Harmonised frequency arrangements for mo bile/fixed communications networks (MFCN) operating in the bands 3400-3600 MHz and 3600-3800 MHz’ and by the European Commission Decision 2008/411/EC on ‘the harmonisation of the 3400-3800 MHz frequency band for terrestrial systems capable of providing electronic communications services in the Community’.99 The ITU-R report number M.2109 summarises a number of sharing results carried out for WRC-07.

41



ITU-R radio regulations allocate the 3800-4200 MHz range to fixed, fixed-Satellite (space-to-earth), mobile (except aeronautical) and radiolocation services globally. Each geographical region and country assigns different priority levels to the various services in this band.


Region 1 (EMEA) Region 2 (Americas) Region 3 (APAC)

3400-3500 Secondary Mobile allocation everywhere IMT identification in countries defined by 5.430A footnote

Secondary Mobile allocation everywhere Primary MOBILE allocation in countries defined by 5.431A footnote

Secondary Mobile allocation everywhere IMT identification in countries defined by 5.432B, 5.432, 5.432A footnotes

3500-3600

Primary MOBILE allocation everywhere

Primary MOBILE allocation everywhere IMT identification in countries defined by 5.433A footnote

3600-3800

Secondary Mobile allocation everywhere Primary MOBILE allocation in European Common Allocation table

Primary MOBILE allocation everywhere

3800-4200 Secondary Mobile allocation everywhere

ITU-R Mobile service allocations and IMT identifications globally. ITU-R Mobile service allocations and IMT identifications globally.

The European Union

The 3800-4200 MHz range is included within the bands with medium-term potential (post-2015) for wireless broadband in the Radio Spectrum Policy Group’s (RSPG) opinion on the ‘Strategic challenges facing Europe in addressing the growing spectrum demand for wireless broadband’.100 According to the RSPG’s recommendations, “The frequency range 3800-4200 MHz may play a role in the provision of Electronic Communications Services (ECS) to enhance future capacity requirements, especially in urban areas.” For that reason, “the Commission should study the possibility of sharing in Europe between the FSS and terrestrial wireless broadband services in this frequency range.”

EU member states

• Sweden: 3600-5000 MHz range has been put forward for IMT

• Finland and Denmark: Support the 3400-4200 MHz range for IMT


Countries in Asia, Brazil and some parts of Africa use the 3400-4200 MHz range for FSS, including satellite TV. This usage is believed to be lighter below 3600-3700 MHz than above 3700MHz. The band is viewed as being of particular importance in tropical/equatorial regions due to its propagation characteristics compared with other satellite bands.

• Australia: The 3400-3600 MHz band already available for IMT, while the 3600-4200 MHz range is under consideration for IMT

• China: Moving towards allocating the 3300-3400 MHz range for IMT. Also considering setting aside up to the 3600MHz point

• Colombia: Supports using the 3400-4200 MHz range for IMT

• Egypt: Considering the 3400-4200 MHz range for IMT

• Japan: Supports the 3400-3600 MHz and 3600-4200 MHz ranges for IMT

• Korea: Supports the 3600-4200 MHz range for IMT

100 RSPG13-521 rev1: circabc.europa.eu/sd/d/c7597ba6-f00b-44e8-b54d-f6f5d069b097/RSPG13-521_RSPG%20Opinion_on_WBB.pdf

42

List of Abbreviations

3GPP 3rd Generation Partnership Project GSMGlobal System for Mobile communications

APT Asia Pacific Telecommunity GSMA GSM Association

ARNS Aeronautical Radio Navigation Service IMTInternational Mobile Telecommunications

BB BroadBand ITU-RInternational Telecommunication Union Radio-communication Sector

BEM Block Edge Mask LRTC Least Restrictive Technical conditions

BWA Broadband Wireless Access LTE Long Term Evolution

CA Carrier Aggregation M2M Machine-to-Machine

CEPTEuropean Conference of Postal and Telecommunications Administrations

MBB Mobile BroadBand

CGC Complementary Ground Component MFCN Mobile/Fixed Communications Networks

CPG Conference Preparatory Group MSS Mobile Satellite Service

CRS Cognitive Radio System PMSE Programme Making and Special Events

DAB Digital Audio Broadcasting PPDR Public Protection and Disaster Relief

DL DownLink PT Project Team

DVB-T Digital Video Broadcasting - Terrestrial SDL Supplemental DownLinkV

ECC Electronic Communications Committee SFN Single Frequency Network

EESS Earth Exploration Satellite Service TDD Time Division Duplexing

eMBMSenhanced Multimedia Broadcast/Multicast Service

UMTSUniversal Mobile Telecommunications System

FCC Federal Communications Commission UL Uplink

FDD Frequency Division Duplexing WCS Wireless Communications Service

FSS Fixed Satellite Service WG Working Group

FWA Fixed Wireless Access WLAN Wireless Local Area Network

GSA Global mobile Suppliers Association

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The full spectrum of possibilities: meeting future demand for ...

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