4G Americas Mobile Broadband Spectrum Requirements March 2011

8/6/2019 4G Americas Mobile Broadband Spectrum Requirements March 2011

1/50


2/50

CONTENTS 1. ExecutiveSummary.......................................................................................................................................32. Introduction..................................................................................................................................................4

2.1TheMobileMiracle.......................................................................................................................................4

2.2WhyItMustbeNurtured...............................................................................................................................5

3.SpectrumforMobileBroadband....................................................................................................................73.1.SpectrumDemand.........................................................................................................................................7

3.2 SpectrumRequirements.............................................................................................................................16

3.3 TakeAways.................................................................................................................................................21

4. SpectrumAnimatingPrinciples.....................................................................................................................274.1 Wellconceivedspectrumstrategiesarevital.............................................................................................27

4.2 Marketorientedassignmentapproachesworkspectrumcapsshouldbedisfavored............................40

4.3 Thereisnotimetolosespectrumallocationscantakeyearstoeffectuate...........................................44

5. ClosingConsiderations..................................................................................................................................466. Appendices..................................................................................................................................................47

6.1 Abbreviations..............................................................................................................................................47

6.2 SelectedReferences....................................................................................................................................49

7. Acknowledgements......................................................................................................................................50


3/50

3|P a g e

1. EXECUTIVE SUMMARY

Mobile broadband in the Americas is in a delicate state. On the one hand, the growth in

subscribershiphasbeenphenomenal a mobilemiracle,asthe ITUcharacterized it in2008,

when mobile broadband subscriptions first exceeded fixed broadband subscriptions globally.

Thefeaturesandcapabilitiesoftodaysmobilebroadbandnetworks,devicesandservicesare

astounding,withthepromiseoffutureenhancementsevenmoreexciting.

On the other hand, the mobile broadband stands at a potentially perilous time. Today the

industry lacks sufficient incremental supply of one of its essential raw materials spectrum.

Based on a review of recent forecasts, one can reasonably draw the conclusion that mobile

broadbandnetworkswillhitcapacityshortagesbythemiddleofthedecadeunlessstepsaretakentosecuretheadditionalspectrumneeded.

Such steps need to be taken today to avoid these risks. Helpfully, the industry has a long

history of driving innovation in radio access technologies, from EDGE through HSPA to LTE,

allowingittoexploitspectrumassetsasintensivelyaspossible. Inparallel,theindustryalsohas

investedbillions inbuilding cellsites toenhancenetworkcoverageandcapacity. Suchsteps

willcontinuetobeneeded,andthereisnoindicationofdeploymentslowing.

Atthesametime,additionalspectrumformobilebroadbandisvital. Countriesmustbeginnow

to plan for the future, in order to preserve the promise of themobilemiracle. Historically,

spectrumallocationscantakeatleast5years,andoftenlonger,toeffectuate.

4G

Americas

offers

the

following

guideposts

to

aid

stakeholders

in

the

region

in

working

togethertosecureabrightmobilebroadbandtomorrow.

1. WellConsideredSpectrumAllocationPoliciesareImperativeA. ConfigureLicenseswithWiderBandwidthsB. GroupLikeServicesTogetherC. BeMindfulofGlobalTechnologyStandardsD. PursueHarmonized/ContiguousSpectrumAllocationsE. ExhaustExclusiveUseOptionsBeforePursuingSharedUseF. NotAllSpectrumisFungibleAlignAllocationwithDemand

2. Marketorientedspectrumassignmentapproachesworkspectrumcapsshouldbe

disfavored.

3. Thereisnotimetolosespectrumallocationscantakeyearstoeffectuate.

4GAmericasmembers,aswellasitsmembercompanies,standpreparedtoaidstakeholdersin

securingthepromiseofmobilebroadband.


4/50

4|P a g e

2. INTRODUCTION

2. 1THEMOBILEMIRACLE

It isnothingshortofamobilemiracle. Soremarked the InternationalTelecommunications

Union(ITU),anagencyoftheUnitedNations, inaMay2010reportonmeasuringtheglobal

Information Society. Taking note of the astounding developments in the growth of mobile

broadband,theITUstatedthat:

Promisingdevelopmentsarecurrentlytakingplaceinthemobile

broadbandsector.TheintroductionofhighspeedmobileInternet

accessinanincreasingnumberofcountrieswillfurtherboostthe

number

of

Internet

users,

particularly

in

the

developing

world.

Indeed,thenumberofmobilebroadbandsubscriptionshasgrown

steadilyand in2008surpassedthoseforfixedbroadband.Atthe

endof2009,therewereanestimated640millionmobileand490

millionfixedbroadbandsubscriptions.

TheITUhighlightedthatmobilebroadbandsubscriptionsnowmateriallysurpassfixed

broadbandsubscriptions,andprovidedthefollowinggraphicpunctuatingthisinflectionpoint:


5/50

5|P a g e

Prior to delving into these trends in more depth, it is instructive to pause to reflect on the

significance of these trends for our society and its development. Specifically, why is it

importanttonurturemobilebroadband1deployment?

2. 2WH YIT MUSTBENURTURED

As theUnited NationsConferenceon Trade andDevelopment (UNCTAD) succinctly phrased

matters, the benefits of broadband for social and economic development are well

acknowledged.2 It references the frequently cited World Bank finding that, in low and

middleincome countries, every ten percentage point increase in broadband penetration

correspondstoanincreaseineconomicgrowthof1.38percentagepoints;doublethatofhigh

incomecountries.

More

precisely

for

present

purposes,

UNCTAD

notes

that

Wireless offers a more practical broadband entry point for developing

nations. Installation costsare lower than fixed broadbandand formobile

broadband,countriescanleverageexistingnetworks.

MostnationsinLatinAmericaandtheCaribbeanarefacedwiththeurgentneedtoreducethe

digital divide by increasing broadband penetration. At best, broadband penetration hovers

aroundtenpercent. Incontrast,wirelesspenetrationforbasicvoiceanddataservicesalready

reaches95%intheregion,andhassurpassed100%inseveralcountries.

Asaresult,mobilebroadbandislikelytheoptimalsometimestheonlyenablerofInternet

connectivity for residents of the region. Encouragingly, in burgeoning Latin American

economiessuchasArgentina,Brazil,Chile,Colombia,MexicoandUruguay,growth inmobile

broadbandhasexceededtherateofbroadbandaccessprovidedbyfixednetworksduringthe

lasttwelvemonths.

Mobile broadband is already contributing significantly to the GDPs of emerging countries.

Globally,theeconomicboosttotheGDPsofthesenationsisestimatedatUS$300$400billion,

1 Bymobilebroadbandwerefertonetworks,devices,andservicespoweredbycontemporaryhighspeedmobile

datanetworks(principallyHSPA+andLTE).

2UNCTAD,InformationEconomyReport2010atpages2425,

http://www.unctad.org/Templates/webflyer.asp?docid=13912&intItemID=1397&lang=1.


6/50

6|P a g e

andrepresents1014millionjobs. InLatinAmerica,comparablefiguresareUS$5070billion

andanadditional1.117millionjobs.3

Thus,thetrendsevidentinotherdevelopingcountriesaremanifestedinLatinAmericaaswell.

Induecourse,ascharacterizedbyProfessorGeraldFaulhaberoftheWhartonSchool,[M]obile

willbecometheportalofchoicetotheInternetformostoftheworldspopulation.4

3 NavigantEconomicsPresentationtoWirelessCommunicationsAssociationInternational,26February2010.

4 GeraldFaulhaber,MobileTelephony: Economic&SocialImpact(4February2010),

http://regulation2point0.org/wpcontent/plugins/downloadmonitor/download.php?id=25.


7/50

7|P a g e

3.SPECTRUM FO RMOBILE BROADBAND 3.1. SPECTRUM DEMAND

3.1.1MARKETOVERVIEW

ThemarketintheAmericasformobilebroadbandisinrapidascent. Basedonthemostrecent

subscription data from Informa, UMTSHSPA is the fastestgrowing mobile technology in the

Americas(NorthAmerica,LatinAmericaandtheCaribbean),withsubscriptionsof116million

at the end of 2010. Operators continue to deploy HSPA, the worlds most popular mobile

broadbandtechnology,withatotalof77commercialnetworksin29countriesthroughoutthe

region.5

The rate ofgrowth,quarter overquarter, forUMTSHSPAat the end of December2010 was

54%fortheUS&Canada(77milliontotalsubscriptions)and139%forLatinAmerica(38million

totalsubscriptions). Both ratesofgrowthsurpassed the globalquarteroverquarter rate for

UMTSHSPA subscriptions of 40%. The combined quarter over quarter growth rate for the

hemisphereattheendofDecember2010was74%. Thesetrendsaredepicted inthecharts

below.

5 4GAmericas,3GPPMobileBroadbandTechnologiesLeadtheWayintheAmericas,PressRelease(14March

2011),availableathttp://www.4gamericas.org/index.cfm?fuseaction=pressreleasedisplay&pressreleaseid=3076.


8/50

8|P a g e

Supporting this growth is the growing number of commercial HSPA networks in the region.

Presently there are 13 commercially deployed UMTSHSPA networks in the U.S. and Canada,

including5HSPA+networks. InLatinAmericaandtheCaribbean,thereare64HSPAnetworks

commerciallydeployedin27countries,includingsevenHSPA+networks,asdepictedbelow.

LTEnetworksareemergingaswell. Inthesecondhalfof2010,VerizonWirelessandMetroPCS

launchedLTEserviceintheUnitedStates. AT&TisexpectedtolaunchLTEmid2011. InLatin

America, according to MaravedisResearch,momentum is beginning to build as well. By the

endof2011,Maravedisexpectstherewillbemorethan20LTEcommitments,anadditional7

LTEtrialswillbeconducted(inadditiontothe7thathavebeenconductedalready),andthere

maybeupto4operatorswithcommerciallaunchesofthetechnology.Maravedisalsoexpects

thatby20142015morethan25operatorswillhavecommercialLTEservices.6

6MaravedisResearch,26January2011.


9/50

9|P a g e

3.1.2GROWTHIN USAGE

In itsmost recentGlobal MobileBroadband TrafficReport, published in February2011, Allot

Communicationscalculatesthatmobiledatabandwidthusagegrewby73%inthesecondhalf

of 2010, culminating in an overall annual growth rate of 190% for 2010. Over one third of

globalmobiledatabandwidthconsistsofvideostreaming,whilefilesharingandwebbrowsing

representanother30%and26%ofglobalmobilebandwidth,respectively. Thefollowingchart

further illustrates these trends, including the clear upswing in video streaming over the past

twoyears.

[Source: AllotCommunications,February2011]

TheAmericasisnotimmunefromtheimpactsofsubscriber,deviceandusagegrowthrateson

mobilebroadbandnetworksbeingexhibitedinotherregionsoftheworld. Thesnapshotbelow

of network key performance indicators (KPIs) from AsiaPacific (APAC), Europe and the

Americas provides a glimpse of the accelerating levels of traffic being carried by mobile

broadband networks fromjust before January 2007 (roughly a year following the first global

launchofawidescaleHSDPAnetworkbyAT&T,thenCingular,during2005)toJanuary2010.


10/50

10|P a g e

[Source: NokiaSiemensNetworks,2010]

In

its

most

recent

The

State

of

the

Internet

Report,

for

Q32010,

Akamai

provides

additional

insighton trafficgrowth in thehemisphere. Itsanalysisofconsumptiononmobilenetworks

worldwide spans 111 providers, including 29 operators from 14 countries in the region

(Argentina,Bolivia,Brazil,Canada,Chile,Colombia,ElSalvador,Guatemala,NetherlandAntilles,

Nicaragua, Paraguay,UnitedStates, Uruguay, and Venezuela). Overall, dataconsumption on

mobile networks grew quarter over quarter for 101 of the 111 operators, including five

operatorsforwhichusagemorethandoubledquarteroverquarter.7

Lookingtowardsthefuture,IDATEestimatesthattotalmobiletrafficwillreachmorethan127

exabytes8(EB)globallyin2020,increaseover2010levelsbyafactorof33.

Totalmobiletraffic(EBperyear World)

2010 2015 2020Europe 1.03 10.88 28.15

Americas 0.78 9.84 27.33

Asia 1.65 16.31 43.85

Restoftheworld 0.41 8.22 28.48

World 3.86 45.25 127.82

[Source:IDATE,January2011]

7 Akamai,TheStateoftheInternet 3rdQuarter,2010Report(January2011)atpage27.

8AnExabyteis10

18bytes,orasRTTmemorablyexplains,equivalenttoallthewordseverspokenbymankind.


11/50

11|P a g e

By2020Asiawillrepresent34.3%oftotalworldmobiletraffic,Europe22%andtheAmericas

21.4%,accordingtoIDATEandasportrayedbelow.

Totalmobiletraffic(EBperyear World)

[Source:IDATE,January2011]

EricssonhasrecentlyestimatedsimilargrowthratesasIDATEformobiledataonaglobalbasis

fortheupcoming5yearperiod. Bothfirmsforecastannualglobalmobiledatatrafficvolumes

inexcessof40exabytesperyearby2015. Ericssonsprojectionisdepictedinthegraphbelow.

[Source: WirelessIntelligence,February2011]

-

20.00

40.00

60.00

80.00

100.00

120.00

140.00

2010 2015 2020

Yearly

traffic

in

EB

Europe

Americas

Asia

Rest of the world

World


12/50

12|P a g e

Ontheotherhand,AlcatelLucentforecastsevenhigherglobalmobiledatavolumesby2015. It

predictsatwentyfoldgrowthinglobalmobiletrafficby2015to8,000petabytes(or8exabytes)

per month, or 96 exabytes on an annualized basis.9 Alcatel Lucents forecast, as depicted

below,isfueledinsignificantpartbyexpandingsmartphonedatagrowthovertheperiod.

[Source: AlcatelLucent,February2011]

The divergence in these figures is less important than their directionality and even more

critically

their

drivers.

Regarding

the

latter

point,

underneath

these

trends

lie

a

variety

of

factors motivating a growing number of users to intensify and diversify their use of mobile

broadband. The increase in both the number and capability of mobile broadband networks

over the past couple of years as one driver is a given. Powerful new handheld devices and

richer content and applications are additional factors. Finally, as connected devices

increasinglypenetrate thesubscriberbase, thenumberofdevices perheadwillalsoadd to

thetotaltrafficonthenetwork.10

Considerationssuchasdevices,mobility,andrichapplicationsarenotsimplyadditive,butwork

synergisticallyinawaythatcompoundstheimpactonmobilebroadbandnetworksmorethan

9 RTTsforecastofdatavolumeisonthehighsideaswell,predicting87exabytesofofferedmobiledatatraffic

globallyby2015. SeeRTT,LTEUserEquipmentEfficiency&NetworkValue,atpage4.10

CreditSuisse(6February2011)estimatesthatthenumberofdevicesperuniqueuserintheUnitedStateswill

climbfrom1.2in2009to3.9in2015,asconsumersaddmobilebroadbandenabledlaptops,tabletsandconnected

devicestotheirdevicecollections.


13/50

13|P a g e

justconsideringthesefactorsinamutuallyexclusivemanner. Forexample,Facebookcurrently

reports that there are more than 200 million active users accessing the site through their

mobiledevices,andthatpeopleusingFacebookontheirmobiledevicesaretwiceasactiveon

Facebookasnonmobileusers.11

Moreover, high end devices continue to have distinct, multiplicative impacts. For example,

Ciscos most recent Global Mobile Data Traffic Forecast Update (20102015), released 1

February2011,documentsthatrelativetononsmartphones,themultiplierforhighenddevice

usage in2010as follows: smartphones (24x);handheldgamingconsole (60x);tablet (122x);

mobile phone projector (300x); and laptop (515x).12

These multiplicative effects will persist

through 2015 for all categories of devices, according to Cisco, as illustrated in the following

chartlistingaveragetrafficperdevice(MB/month).

Device Type 2009 2010 2015

Non Smartphone 1.5 3.3 54

E-reader 5 11 245

Smartphone 35 79 1,272

Portable Gaming Console Not Available 250 879

Tablet 28 405 2,311

Laptop and netbook 1,145 1,708 6,522

M2M module 3 35 166

[Source: CiscoVNIMobile,February2011]

Withrespecttowhatconsumersareusingmobilebroadbandcapacityfor,NorthAmericanand

Latin American consumers exhibit important similarities and a few interesting differences.

According to Sandvines most recent Global Internet Phenomena Report (Fall 2010), the top

two mobile application categories in North America and Latin America during peak periods

when bandwidth utilization is the heaviest are RealTime Entertainment (consisting of

applicationsandprotocolspermittingondemandentertainmentconsumedasitarrives),and

webbrowsing. Thiscontinuesthetrend inthedataseen in2H2009. Interestingly,whileP2P

filesharingprofilesarefallinginbothregions,therelativeproportioninLatinAmericaisabout

threetimestheproportioninNorthAmerica. Thefollowingchartsillustratethesetrends.

11http://www.facebook.com/press/info.php?statistics

12 CiscoVNI:GlobalMobileDataTrafficForecastUpdate(1February2011)atpage7.


14/50

14|P a g e

[Source: Sandvine,October2010]

Further expounding on these trends, TMobile USA CTO Neville Ray recently noted that the

amount of data consumed by subscribers on TMobiles network is doubling every seven

months, and that video use tripled on its network in 2010.13 Interestingly, the latter figure

coincideswithGooglesrecentdisclosurethatYouTubenowexceeds200millionviewsadayon

mobile,a3xincreasein2010.14

AllotCommunicationsalsoilluminatesthistrendbyobserving

that YouTube is responsible for an astounding 17% of overall global mobile data bandwidth.

Thelattertwotrendsarefurthervisualizedbelow.

[Source: YouTube,January2011] [Source: Allot,February2011]

Where are all these drivers ultimately headed? In short, an endstate exhibiting the

ascendencyofthemobileinternet. By2012,accordingtoMorganStanley,moresmartphones

13 http://gigaom.com/broadband/tmobileshspadoublingdownonspeedsin2011/

14http://youtubeglobal.blogspot.com/2011/01/musicvideosnowonyoutubeappfor.html


15/50

15|P a g e

willbeshippedthanPCs(includingnetbooksandnotebooks).Thisreflectsaninflectionpoint

according to Morgan Stanley, suggesting theonset of a fundamental shift in how the typical

consumerwillbeaccessingtheInternetinthecomingyears.

[Source:MorganStanley,November2010]

Providinganappropriatecodaforthisinflectionpoint,EricssonobservedattherecentMobile

WorldCongressthatitexpectsmobilebroadbandsubscribershiptoreach1billionin2011,and

potentially45billionby201516(outofatotalof78billiontotalglobalmobilesubscribers).

Ericsson also anticipates that mobile datagrowth usage by 2015 will attain such levels as to

comefullcirclewithtypicalusagelevelsonPCs.15

15 MorganStanley,Ericsson,QuickComment: FeedbackfromMWC,4February2011.


16/50

16|P a g e

3.2 SPECTRUM REQUIREMENTS

Ifyoudon'tknowwhereyouaregoingyoumightwindupsomeplaceelse.

YogiBerra

Predictingthefuturecarriesobviousrisks,andpredictingfuturespectrumrequirementsisnot

immune from this reality. Yet, the effort needs to be made while the future may be

unknowable, nevertheless it can be shaped and influenced. The effort to quantify the

incremental spectrum needed to support mobile broadbands continued vibrancy is a critical

exercise,evenifitisanimpreciseone.

Ataconceptuallevel,spectrumforecastsrequiredataandassumptionsinthefollowingareas:

Available spectrum: currentand foreseen levels of allocations for the relevant studyperiod, tempered by the industry structure (e.g. operator market shares; incumbent

versusentrantstatus,etc.)

Traffic demand: typicallyparameterized in termsof peakor busyhour throughputrequired,andhighlysensitivetouserprofiles,devicesinuse,andservicesdemanded

Networkdesign: assumptionsrelatedtothenetworkarchitecture,encompassingsuchfactors as spectrum portfolio (e.g. high versus low bands), subscriber demographics

(rural versus urban versus suburban), network topology (e.g. cell densities, degree of

utilizationofoffloadingviafemtocellsand/orWiFi,etc.);radioaccesstechnology(e.g.,

EDGE,HSPA,HSPA+,LTE,etc.)

NetworkCosts: estimationsofRANCAPEXandOPEXlevelsrequiredforagivennetworkdesign, including potential spectrum costs, which factors into investment

considerations, that is, tradeoffs among various options to address future capacity

needs(e.g.cellsplitsversus.additionalspectrumpurchases)

Spectrum forecasts are complicated and highly detailed undertakings, involving the

developmentofcomplexdemand/capacitymodelsbasedontheabovefactors. Forpurposes

of this paper, we have not undertaken our own forecast, but have chosen to survey and

summarizethefindingsofrecentforecastsconductedataglobalornationallevel,andtodraw

reasonableinferencesfromthiseffort. Thesummaryanddistillationofkeypointsfollows.

3.2.1.ITURM.2078 (2006)

ITUR M.2078, published in 2006, is probably the most frequently cited long term spectrum

forecastforthemobileindustry. TheITUundertooktodeterminehowmuchspectrumwould

be needed per country in the years 2010, 2015 and 2020. The table below summarizes the

resultsoftheITUsanalysis,whicharebrokendownbyhigherorlowermarketdevelopment


17/50

17|P a g e

status compared to a single global common market, as well asby Radio Access Technology

Group(RATG). RATG1coverspreIMTandIMT,aswellasenhancementstoIMT,andRATG2is

comprisedofIMTAdvanced.

Market setting

Spectrum requirement for

RATG 1 (MHz)

Spectrum requirement for

RATG 2 (MHz)

Total spectrum requirement

(MHz)

Year 2010 2015 2020 2010 2015 2020 2010 2015 2020

Higher market setting 840 880 880 0 420 840 840 1 300 1 720

Lower market setting 760 800 800 0 500 480 760 1 300 1 280

[Source: ITURM.2078,2006]The ITU concluded that total spectrum requirements for the higher market setting would be

840MHzby2010,1300MHzby2015and1720MHzbytheyear2020. Evenforthesituationin

which a lower level of market development is assumed, the ITU projected total spectrum

requirementsof760MHzby2010,1300MHzby2015and1280MHzby2020.16

Extrapolating from the ITUs forecast, in 2007 the NGMN Alliance (a global coalition of

operators, industry partners, and academic advisors) determined what the net spectrum

requirement would be, based on existing allocations, in each of the three ITU regions. The

followingchartpresentstheNGMNAlliancesfindings,whichinsummaryarethatbetween500

MHzand1GHzwouldbeneededdependingonregionby2020.17

[Source: NGMNAlliance,June,2007]

16 EstimatedSpectrumBandwidthRequirementsfortheFutureDevelopmentofIMT2000andIMTAdvanced,

ReportITURM.2078(2006).

17 SpectrumRequirementsfortheNextGenerationofMobileNetworks,NGMNAlliance(20Jun.2007)atp.22,

availableat

http://www.ngmn.org/uploads/media/Spectrum_Requirements_for_the_Next_Generation_of_Mobile_Networks.

pdf.


18/50

18|P a g e

3.2.2 NATIONAL BROADBANDPLAN(2010)

In March 2010, the US Federal Communications Commission (FCC) released its National

Broadband

Plan

(NPB),

a

report

mandated

the

previous

year

by

the

US

Congress.

Among

other

matters, the NPB described the critical role that mobile operators will play in meeting US

broadband objectives through the remainder of the decade, as well as the incremental

spectrumrequirementthatmobileoperatorswillrequireinordertodoso.18

Inshort,theNPBconcludedthattheUSGovernmentshouldmake500MHzofnewspectrum

availableforbroadbandwithinthenexttenyears,ofwhich300MHzshouldbemadeavailable

forusewithinfiveyears. Further,pursuanttoanExecutiveMemorandumtofederalagencies

issuedinJune2010,U.S.PresidentObamadirectedagenciestoworktosecurethisincremental

500MHzofspectruminatimelyfashion.19

TheFCCpublishedatechnicalpaper,MobileBroadband:theBenefitsofAdditionalSpectrum,20

inOctober2010,thegoalofwhichwastomakeareasonabledemonstrationthatmobiledata

demandislikelytoexceedcapacityundercurrentspectrumavailabilityinthenearterm. The

FCCsconclusionswerethreefold:

Itislikelythatmobiledatademandwillexhaustspectrumresourcesinthenextfive

years;

Aspectrumdeficitapproaching300MHzislikelyby201421

Anarrowlycircumscribedestimationoftheeconomicbenefitfromreleasing

additionalspectrum(thatistheavoidanceofunnecessarycostsinsatisfyingmobile

datademand)islikelytoexceed$100billion(USD).

18 NationalBroadbandPlan,Chapter5:Spectrum(March2010),http://www.broadband.gov/plan/5

spectrum/#_edn67.19

http://www.whitehouse.gov/thepressoffice/presidentialmemorandumunleashingwirelessbroadband

revolution20

http://download.broadband.gov/plan/thebroadbandavailabilitygapobitechnicalpaperno1.pdf21

CreditSuissesMay2010analysisoftheNPBfurtherdemonstratestheloomingspectrumgap. UsingtheFCCs

assumed rate of increase in data consumption and interpolating to 2015 (yielding a 72x increase in data

consumption by 2015), 300 MHz incremental spectrum (1.6x increase over current levels), and accounting for

improvementsinutilizationandspectralefficiency,65%offuturedemandwouldstillbeunmet. Itishard,Credit

Suisse argues, to imagine that these capacity gains can be achieved by further cell splitting. Credit Suisse,

TelecomIndustryThemes: ProfitingfromtheSpectrumCrisis,24May2010,atpages45.


19/50

19|P a g e

3.2.3.MOBILEBROADBANDCAPACITYCONSTRAINTS(RYSAVYRESEARCH)

In February 2010, Rysavy Research publishedMobile Broadband Capacity Constraints& the

Needfor Optimization,22

a report which included results of a spectrum demand modeling

exercise suggesting that many operators spectrum could be consumed within three to five

years.

The model isbased on anexamination of how much data users consume in a month,which

depends in part on the type of device. It calculates the bitpersecond load per broadband

subscriberperdevicetypeduringthebusiesttimesoftheday. Themodelthenmultipliesthe

peruser traffic amount by the number of mobile broadband users in a typical cell sector to

obtainatotaldataloadinthatsector. Then,knowingthespectralefficiencyofthetechnology

beingused,themodeldeterminestheamountofspectrumneededtosupportthatload. The

model makes certain projections to account for growth in mobile broadband usage and

increases

in

spectral

efficiency

over

time,

and

calculates

the

amount

of

spectrum

that

a

large

operatorwouldneedtosupportthegivendemandortotaldataloadinasector.

Thefollowingchartdepictstheamountofspectrumanoperatorwouldrequireinitsbusiest

marketstomeetforecasteddemand.

[Source:

Rysavy

Research,

February

2010]

22 http://www.rysavy.com/Articles/2010_02_Rysavy_Mobile_Broadband_Capacity_Constraints.pdf


20/50

20|P a g e

Anotherwaytoconsiderthistrend,accordingtothereport,istocomputeaveragedatausage

acrossallsubscribersandthencomparethatwiththeaveragecapacityforeachdatauser,using

agenerousassumptionthatanoperatorhas50MHzofspectrum(25MHz+25MHz)deployed

forjustbroadbanddataservices(1020MHzofspectrumforbroadband ismorecommonfor

thetypicaloperatortoday).

[Source: RysavyResearch,February2010]

These results are broadly consistent with the FCCs conclusion in its October 2010 technical

paper,

noted

above,

that

demand

is

likely

to

outstrip

supply

by

2015,

if

not

earlier,

in

the

absenceofincrementalspectrum.

3.2.4.SPECTRUMMARKETS: MOTIVATIONS, CHALLENGES,ANDIMPLICATIONS(2010)

ProfessorsBerry,HonigandVohraofNorthwesternUniversity,writing intheNovember2010

issue of IEEECommunications Magazine, outlined a vision of an expansive twotier spectrum

market(consistingofasecondarymarketforownerstradingspectrumassetsandaspotmarket

forlimiteddurationrentalsatparticularlocations). Afundamentalpremisetotheworkability

ofsuchamarketis,accordingtotheauthors,theassumptionthatspectrumisindeedascarce

resource. To test this hypothesis, they estimated the achievable rate per user assuming all

spectrum assigned to nongovernment services between 150 MHz and 3 GHz in the United

States is available for mobile broadband access. The total bandwidth is 1,018 MHz, and the

specificspectrumbandsareprovidedinthefollowingtablefromthearticle.


21/50

21|P a g e

[Source: IEEECommunicationsMagazine,November2010]

Theauthorsdonotgosofarastoestablishspecificlevelsofscarcityovertime. However,their

conclusionsareinstructive. Basedontheirmodeling,theyfindthatwithgenerousassumptions

as to the availability of a managed infrastructure, coordinated frequency reuse, extensive

spectrumsharing,relativelysmallcellradii,andothers,dataratesinexcessof1Mbpscouldin

principlebemadecontinuouslyavailabletoeverymemberofadenseurbanpopulations.

Evenso,theauthorsacknowledgethatthisrate isoptimisticasaresultoftheassumptions

made. Asapracticalmatter,theyfind,aspectrumshortfallisarealriskintheUnitedStates,

anddemandforspectrummayexceedsupplyasusers,applicationsandsystemsproliferate.

3.3 TAKEAWAYS

Intheprecedingsectionwehaverevieweddatareflectingthedemandformobilebroadbandin

theAmericas. Theregionispoisedforacceleratedgrowthindatabeingtransitedovermobile

broadbandnetworks. Existingstudiesofwhetherthesenetworkswillhavesufficientcapacity

tomeetburgeoningdemandarelimitedandnotsusceptibletooneononecomparison. Some

importantbroadimplicationscan,however,bedrawn.

1. DEMANDISLIKELYTOOUTSTRIPSUPPLYINSHORTORDERUNDERABUSINESSAS

USUALAPPROACH.

Intheabsenceofsignificantactionstoaddresscapacitytrends,mobilenetworksare likelyto

begin experiencing capacity crunches in the next several years. It is unlikely, observes

GoldmanSachs,thatthecurrentspectrumavailabilitywillbeabletosupporttheamountof

datatrafficthatisexpectedtooccur.

23 CreditSuisserecentlyconcludedthat,withregardto

23 GoldmanSachsEquityResearch,LTE:fuelingthemobilesupercycle;implicationsacrossTMT(9February2011)

atpage27.


22/50

22|P a g e

the United States, demand for wireless capacity will outstrip what can be offered by all

spectrumcurrentlyavailabletowirelesscarriersby2013.24

While the situation may be less well quantified in the rest of the hemisphere, this is not a

reasontodelayaddressingtheissueintherestoftheregion. Asexplainedfurtherbelow,other

countries in the hemisphere generally begin with a relatively smaller spectrum portfolio for

mobilebroadbandcomparedtotheUnitedStates. Whiledemandmayempiricallybesmallerin

thesecountriescomparedtotheUnitedStates,itisalsotruethatnewspectrumallocationswill

take considerable time to put to use, including potentially for spectrum whose utilization

dependsonthebroadcastTVanalogswitchover.

2. THEREISNOSINGLEPANACEATOADDRESSINGTHISGAP.

Historically,capacityonmobilebroadbandnetworkshasbeenaugmentedinthreebasicways

(1)drivingincreasedspectralefficiencyfromspectrumallocations(asmeasuredinbitsperHz);

(2) increasingthenumberofsites inthenetworksoasto intensify frequencyreuse;and (3)

securingadditionalspectrum.25

Network operators have a long history, continuing up to the present, of driving spectral

efficiency improvements and investing significant resources to densify their networks.

Regarding the former, the evolution of 3GPP technologies from EDGE to HSPA to LTE is

reflectedintheincreasinglevelsofspectralefficiencyovertime.26Thisisillustratedinthechart

below.

24CreditSuisseEquityResearch,Clearwire(6February2011)atpages2728. CreditSuisseforecaststhatwithout

additionalspectrumdatacapacityshortfallintheUnitedStateswouldreach400Kterabytes(TB)permonthby

2015. (ATBis1012

bytes.)

25 Capacityissuescanalsobeaddressedfromthedemandside,thatis,byprovidingtoolsandincentivesforusers

tobetterforecastneeds,includingusagebasedserviceofferingsaswellasgraphicalusertoolstohelpconsumers

monitorandapportiondataconsumption.Thisisapotentiallyimportantcomponentofaddressingcapacity

shortfalls,butliesbeyondthescopeofthepresentreport.

26 EnhancementstothespectralefficiencyofHSPA+andLTEcontinueunabated,exemplifiedbytheconsensus

reachedatthemostrecent3GPPRANPlenaryrelatedtoadditionalfeaturesetsforHSPA+beyondRelease10. See

DraftReportofDecember20103GPPRANPlenary,

http://www.3gpp.org/ftp/tsg_ran/TSG_RAN/TSGR_50/Report/Draft_Report_RAN_50_friday.zip;4GAmericas, 4G

MobileBroadbandEvolution3GPPRelease10andBeyond,Section7(February2011).


23/50

23|P a g e

[Source: CreditSuisse,February2011]

Similarly,topologiesformobilenetworkshavebeencharacterizedbyanincreasingnumberof

smallersizedcells. Thetrendtowardmoreandmorecellswithdiminishingcellradiiisforecast

tocontinueinthenearterm;AlcatelLucentprovidesoneestimatebelow.

[Source: AlcatelLucent,June2010,(basedonYankeeGroup2008analysis)]

Cell densification and spectral efficiency gains are bounded, however, by basic technical and

financial realities. Incremental site builds are frequently time intensive, involving additional

zoningand/orleasingapprovals. Byincreasingthenumberofcelledges,operatorsalsoriskan

increase in the potential for intersite interference, adding to the complexity and resources

neededforRFnetworkdesignandmanagement. Finally,densificationissubjecttodiminishing

returns on invested capital as the number of end users that can be served in a financially

prudentwayshrinkspercellsiteastheresultofmoreintensivereuse.

Similarly, the spectral efficiency gains that can be accrued from technology innovation also

comewithaprice. Thesegainsmaybeaccompaniedby increasedcomplexity(andattendant


24/50

24|P a g e

costs) in end user devices and network equipment. In addition, technology innovation is

subject to diminishing returns in the form of the Shannon Bound. The Shannon Bound is a

theoreticallimittotheinformationtransferrate[perunitbandwidth]thatcanbesupportedby

agivencommunicationslink.TheboundisafunctionoftheSignaltoNoiseRatio(SNR)ofthe

communications link. As shown in the figure below, current mobile broadband technologies

areallwithin2to3decibels(dB)oftheShannonBound,indicatingthatthereislittleroomfor

improvementinspectralefficiency,speakingstrictlyfromtheperspectiveofinnovationsinthe

radioaccesstechnology.

[Source:

4G

Americas,

September

2010]

The technical and economic limits on cell densification and spectral efficiency as a means to

bolster capacity mean that each technique cannot be relied upon individually to address

capacity concerns. In fact, there is no single panacea to address future mobile broadband

capacity requirements. Both methods will continue to be vital, as will be the importance of

additionalspectrumallocations,thesubjectofthenextsection.27

27 Additionalmeasurestoaddressmobilebroadbandcapacityexist,andthesealsoneedtobethoroughly

investigatedandadoptedwhereappropriateforagivenoperator. Thesetechniquesincludebutarenotlimitedto:

(a)WiFioffloading;(b)femtocells;and(c)applicationlayercompression.


25/50

25|P a g e

3. SUPPLEMENTALSPECTRUMALLOCATIONSAREACRITICALPARTOFADDRESSING

THISGAP.

Eachcountryfacesuniquecircumstancesintermsofmobilebroadbanddemandandavailable

spectrum.Thecommonthreadunitingall,however,istheloominggapbetweenthetwo.28

The

Broadband Commission for Digital Development, established last year by the United Nations

and UNESCO, perhaps summed it up best in its September 2010 report,A 2010 Leadership

Imperative The Future Built on Broadband, when it stated that countries must radicallyrethinktheavailabilityofadequateradiofrequencyspectruminthebroadbandera.

29

TheUnitedStatesmaybeanoutlierinthehemisphereintermsofthequantityofspectrum

allocatedtomobilebroadbandincomparisonwithothercountries,assuggestedinthe

followingchartfromCTIAtheWirelessAssociation.

[Source:CTIA,May2010]

Note that the chart above does not reflect AWS auctions concluded in Mexico (as well as

Germany)lastyear,orpreparationsbeingmadeinCanadaandMexicotoauctionspectrumat

700MHzandelsewhereasspectruminthepipeline.

28 Althoughthetopicofthispaperonmobilebroadbandspectrum,growingdatausageparticularlyfrom

smartphonestakesitstollonotherpartsofthenetworkaswell. Smartphonesarenotoriouslychattyorinother

wordsdemandinordinatesignalingresourcesfromthenetwork. Thisintensifiesdemandforspectrum,butin

additionhascapacityimplicationsfornetworknodes(especiallyRadioNetworkControllers(RNCs)andServing

GPRSSupportNodes(SGSNs))thatmustprocessthesesignals. Itmayoftenbethecasethatthesenodeswere

notdimensionedforthesmartphoneonslaughtwhentheywereinstalled,meaningthattheymustbeupgradedin

ordertohandleescalatingsignalingloads. RTTestimatesbasedonpresenttrendsthatsignalingvolumeinmobile

networkswillhaveincreased40%between2008and2012. RTTEconomics,LTEUserEquipment,Network

Efficiency&Value(September2010),atpage45.29

TheBroadbandCommissionforDigitalDevelopmentDeclarationandReport(19September2010)atpage6

(emphasisadded),http://www.broadbandcommission.org/report1/report1.pdf.


26/50

26|P a g e

Notwithstanding,allcountries inthehemispherewillconfrontacriticaldecisionaljuncture in

the short term. The NGMN Alliance, as described above, extrapolated from ITUs 2006

spectrum forecast to determine that 500 MHz 1 GHz of incremental spectrum would be

neededbycountriesintheAmericasby2020,dependingonthelevelofmarketdevelopment.

Observingthatcongestiononbroadbandnetwork issettoworsen, ITUSecretaryGeneralDr.

HamadounTourrecentlycalledongovernmentstotakeurgentactionnowtosupportmobile

broadband growth, remarking that steps including greater spectrum availability are

imperative inordertoavoidnetworkbottlenecks.30

Willcountriesheedthismobilebroadband

calltoaction?

30 ITU,Networkcongestionsettoworsen ITUcallsforinternationalbroadbandcommitment,11February2011,

http://www.itu.int/net/pressoffice/press_releases/2011/01.aspx.


27/50

27|P a g e

4. SPECTRUM ANIMATING PRINCIPLES

4.1 WELL CONCEIVED SPECTRUMSTRATEGIES ARE VITAL

In thissection,wedescribea setofprinciples that4G Americasbelievesshouldanimate the

developmentofstrategiesforensuringthecontinuedvitalityofmobilebroadbandservices in

theAmericas. Wepresentprinciplesintheareaofspectrumallocation,spectrumassignment,

andtiming. Togetherwiththeseprinciples,wepresentspecificillustrationsofhowindividual

countries have pursued or are pursuing efforts which are generally aligned with these

principles. By instantiating these principles, meaningful guidance can be provided on how to

bringthemtolife,toconvertwordsintoaction.

4.1.1 CORESPECTRUMALLOCATIONTENETS

Notwithstandingcontinuing innovationand investment that has led to more intensiveuse of

spectrum assets, suitable and sufficient additional spectrum is critical to meet the growing

demandformobilebroadband. 4GAmericasbelievesthatthefollowingtenetsshouldanimate

efforts to allocate spectrum resources. The principles outlined below will further stimulate

investments,keepcostsdown,andultimatelyhelpmeetdemandforbroadbandservices ina

timelymanner.

CONFIGURELICENSESWITHWIDERBANDWIDTHS

Technologies that support ever more supple mobile broadband capability, such as LTE, will

increasingly require wider bandwidth channels to meet consumer demand for bandwidth

intensive and contentrich services.31 Wider spectrum blocks maximize spectrum use by

accommodatingmorebitsandallowingmoreresourcestobepooledforsharingamongusers.

Spectrum allocations should therefore be in sufficiently large, contiguous blocks to

accommodate the future development of mobile broadband networks. Particularly in urban

andsuburbanareas,allocationsshouldfocus,ataminimum,on2x10MHzblocks.

31 HSPA+performancecanbeenhancedbycombiningtwoormore5MHzcarriersinatechniqueknownascarrier

aggregation. LTEcanbedeployedinarangeofbandwidthsfrom1.4,3,5,10,15to20MHz,andcanalsobenefit

fromcarrieraggregationtechniques. Fromaspectralefficiencystandpoint,however,carrieraggregationcannot

beconsideredasubstituteforwiderchannelsinthefirstinstance.


28/50

28|P a g e

GROUPLIKESERVICESTOGETHER

Currentspectrumallocation frameworkstend largelytocompartmentalizespectrumbytypes

of services. The grouping of like services can reduce complexity and cost, and allow more

flexibility in the form factor of the subscriber equipment. For example, allocating additional

spectrumadjacenttosimilarservicesandwithsimilarduplexdistancesreducesthenumberof

bandsthatadevicemustsupport. Standardsdevelopmentwouldasaresultbeaccelerated,

and existing user equipment would be more easily modified rather than requiring new

technologydevelopments,whichacceleratesthemarketavailabilityofthosedevices.

This would be accomplished because the selection of the additional spectrum would not

increasethenumberofbandstobesupportedinamultibanddevice. Weofferaspotentially

positive developments in this area two inquiries recently begun by Mexico and the United

Statestoconsiderallocatingadditionalspectrum formobilebroadbandabove1755MHzand

2155

MHz.

These

efforts

are

in

alignment

with

3GPP

Band

10

(the

extended

AWS

Band

directly adjacent to 3GPP Band 4), which is harmonized throughout the Americas.32

Supplementingcurrentallocationsinthiswaywouldreducedevicecomplexityandcost the

additional spectrum band can be implemented largely as an extension to an existing band.

Designatingspectrumforcertainservicesadjacenttolikeservicespectrumbands,withsimilar

duplexdistances,wouldconsequentlymaximizeperformanceandefficiencies.

BEMINDFULOFGLOBALSTANDARDS.

Technical standards are the foundation for service providers and manufacturers to develop

competitive

products

and

services.

Further,

standards

help

facilitate

regulatory

compliance,

establish patent policies for use of essential technologies, provide a platform for third party

supplier solutions, and serve to energize investment. Finally, standards allow companies to

take advantage of economies of scale that lower costs and promote growth, maximizing

opportunitiesforinnovation.

Inmany instances,globallyacceptedstandardsaredevelopedwithspecificspectrumbands in

mind, and take into consideration coexistence with adjacent services. Therefore, whether

certain spectrum bands have been harmonized and whether a standard exists should be

factoredintospectrumallocationdecisionmaking.

32Seehttp://www.ntia.doc.gov/press/2011/500mhzstatement_02012011.html (NTIAannounces31January2011

thatitwillbegindetailedanalysisofwhethergovernmentspectrumat17551850MHzcanberepurposedfor

commercialbroadbanduse);http://www.cft.gob.mx/es/CofetelCofetel_2008/Reporte_Consulta_Publica_Espectro

(Cofetelsummaryissued8February2010ofpublicconsultationinitiatedinNovember2010onseveralspectrum

bands,including175570MHz&215570MHznotably,allrespondentsexpressedinterestinthesebands).


29/50

29|P a g e

PURSUEHARMONIZED/CONTIGUOUSSPECTRUMALLOCATIONS.

Ensuring that spectrum allocations are, to the greatest extent possible, in accord with

internationalallocationspromotesinnovationandinvestmentbycreatingcriticaleconomiesof

scale. Similarly,harmonizationfacilitatesglobalroamingandhelpscountriesthatshareborders

managecrossborderinterference.Withoutharmonization,newtechnologiesandservicescan

be difficult to export to other markets, and internal markets will fail to benefit from

developments in international markets. Fragmented spectrum allocations hamper innovation

and require companies to dedicate resources to develop new or adapt existing products or

technologiesforasinglemarket,ratherthansharingthosedevelopmentcostsglobally. This,in

turn, increases thecostsand limits the potentialavailability of products and services for the

consumer. Moreover, new/modified technology takes time to commercialize, delaying the

availabilityofservicesanddevicesinthemarkettomeetburgeoningmobiledatademand.

One

of

the

main

reasons

OFDM

was

selected

as

the

multiplexing

technique

for

LTE

relates

to

its

abilitytosubstantiallyincreasespectralefficiencywhenthetransmittedRFsignaliscomposed

of a relatively large number of orthogonal subcarriers. The latter requires a relatively large

amountofcontiguousspectrum.Theresultingincreaseinspectralefficiencyisinthenatureof

astatisticalgain,alsoknownas trunkingefficiency. Trunkingefficiency increasesasdatafor

various users are scheduled (multiplexed) for transmission over larger numbers of sub

carriers,anditsmagnitudeisthusdeterminedbytwofactors:(a)therobustnessofthenetwork

scheduling algorithms, and (b) the amount of spectrum the RF signal occupies. From an

operationalstandpoint,OFDMbasedtechnologies likeLTEcanexhibitasignificant increase in

spectral

efficiency

if

the

occupied

spectrum

is

at

least

10

MHz

(or

10

x

10

MHz

if

considered

on

apairedbasis).

EXHAUSTEXCLUSIVEUSEOPTIONSBEFOREPURSUINGSHAREDUSE.

The exclusive use model refers to a framework in which a licensee has rights that are

exclusive, flexible,and transferable,whileat thesametime inheritingspecific responsibilities

thatcomewiththeserights. Inanexclusiverightsmodel,thelicenseeinsomecasescanlease

some or all of the spectrum usage rights associated with their licenses to third parties.

Licenseesarealsoaffordedprotectionfrominterferenceandmayusethespectruminaflexible

manner

consistent

with

the

terms

of

the

license.

Moreover,

the

certainty

provided

by

the

exclusiveuselicensingapproachencouragesinvestmentbypromotinganenvironmentinwhich

interferenceandsystemcapacitycanbepredicted.

Successfulsharingarrangementsmustbetailoredtothespecificconditions intheband,ona

bandbybandbasis. Theseconditionsmustbeknownatthepointofdesigninceptiontoavoid

inappropriate and costly technology development. Because each sharing environment is


30/50

30|P a g e

unique, technology research and development suitable for the services sharing frequency

bands and knowledge of the specific sharing constraints are required; otherwise, investment

andinnovationwillbeimpededbysuchoperationaluncertainties.

Somesharingenvironmentsarelessconstrainedthanothers.Theseenvironmentsarecreated

bygrouping likeserviceswheretechnologiesandtechnicalrulesaresimilaramongoperators.

Forexample,a fixedservicecanbeeasiertopredictandengineerthanamobileservice,and

with appropriate licensing or notification requirements, can provide regulatory certainty a

prerequisiteforinvestment.

Inaspectrumsharingenvironment,spectralresourcesaremadeavailablebasedonestablished

technical etiquettes or standards that set power limits and other criteria for operation of

devicestomitigatepotential interference. Inaddition,thesharingenvironmentmustbewell

understood sharing criteria may include geographic protection zones, power limits and

temporal

restrictions.

For

example,

spectrum

may

not

be

available

at

certain

times

of

the

day,

ormaynotbeusednearcertainsites,forinstancenearradarsites.

Theuncertaintyofspectrumaccessandpotentialsharingconstraintscantranslateintohigher

networkcosts,andcan limitthetypesofservicesthatcanbesupported.Thus,proposals for

spectrum sharing need to be closely examined, weighing the benefits and opportunities

provided with a variety of other factors including service viability, technology support, and

adequateknowledgeoftheoperatingenvironment.

NOTALLSPECTRUMISFUNGIBLEALIGNALLOCATIONWITHDEMAND.

Futurenetworkswillinalllikelihoodbenetworksofnetworksconsistingofmultipleaccess

technologies, multiple bands, widely varying coverage areas, all selforganized and self

optimized.33 Partof theconsideration tosupport thedevelopmentofsuchnetworksand

theevolutionofdataserviceswillbetheavailabilityofsuitablespectrum,cellsitespacing,

and increases in spectral efficiency to support an increase in the number of users and an

increaseinthedatathroughputavailabletoeachuser.

Essentially, these networkswill need to addresscoverage requirements, that is, adequateserviceacrossabroadlydefinedgeographicarea.Thiswouldincluderuralandisolatedareas

where the population density is low. In this case, the ability to provide services more

efficiently isenhancedusingspectrumwithappropriatepropagationcharacteristics,which

arecharacteristicofthelowerradiofrequencies. Therearealsospecificneedsforcapacity,

33Transitionto4G:3GPPBroadbandEvolutiontoIMTAdvanced,RysavyResearch/4GAmericas,Sept2010,

http://www.4gamericas.org/documents/3G_Americas_RysavyResearch_HSPA LTE_Advanced_FINALv1.pdf.


31/50

31|P a g e

inwhichgreaterbandwidth isneededacrossasmallerarea,butbyanumberof interests

contending for limited spectral resources. This tends to be the case particularly in dense,

urban environments. Even with the latest digital air interfaces and other new network

features, carriers still need to add new cell sites or purchase additional spectrum to

supplementnetworkcapacity.34

Stated differently, when considering frequency bands and combinations thereof, device

manufacturers often categorize bands in terms of high band or low band designations.

Highbandsare frequencybandsabove1GHz (forexample,1900,2100,and2100MHz); low

bandsarethe frequencybandsbelow1GHz (examples700,850,and900MHz). Thehigher

bandsaregenerallyeasierto implement inadevice intermsofsize,asthehigherfrequency

bands require shorter antenna length. The lower bands require longer antennas for optimal

performance. In 3G and 4G devices with multiband support, the number of high bands

supportedalwaysexceedsthenumberof lowbands.SeetheaccompanyingchartforUShigh

andlowbandallocations.

[Source:CreditSuisse,May2010]

34InFocus: TheCapacityChallenge,RossErnst,TenXcWireless,

http://connectedplanetonline.com/wireless/technology/infocus_capacity_challenge_112706


32/50

32|P a g e

Propagation characteristics are sometimes overlooked, but their impact can be tangible and

very significant for overall design and performance. Suitable lower band frequencies can

penetratewallsofbuildingsandhaveasignificantcoveragerangewithoutrequiringthemobile

handsettosupportanunwieldyantenna.

Future IMTAnetworkswillsupport100Mbpsforhighmobilityand1Gbpsforlowmobility.35

The spectrum to serve those areas where the demand for services reaches these levels will

largelycomefromhigherfrequencybandsthathaveadequatecontiguousspectrumtosupport

thetrafficgenerated.

The implementation of future networks must support access to communications anywhere,

anytime. Therefore these networks will rely on multipleaccess technologies supported by a

variety of spectrum bands to address both coverage and capacity needs. This will require

suitablelowerfrequenciestosupportinbuildingcoverageaswellassparselypopulatedareas,

in

addition

to

higher

bands

supporting

capacity

objectives

through

a

mix

of

macro,

micro

and

picocelldeployments.

35ITURM.1645,FrameworkandOverallObjectivesoftheFutureDevelopmentofIMT2000and

SystemsBeyondIMT2000(2003).


33/50

33|P a g e

4.1.2 SIDEBARWHYDOESAL LTHISMATTER?

WhyDoesAllThisMatter?

TheImpactonDevices,Equipment,CostandPerformance

A. SpectrumBandProliferation/Fragmentation

Ifonegoesback1015yearsintime,inthecontextofGSM,devicemanufacturersonlyhadto

consideroneortwofrequencybandswhendesigningamobilephone.MultibandGSMdevices

which allowed for global roaming soon followed in the early 2000s, bringing support for 23

frequencybands,typicallyincludingabandsolelyforglobalroaming.Withthemid2000scame

the advent of UMTS/WCDMA technology, creating the need tosupport local 3G frequency

bandsinadeviceinadditiontotherequiredGSMbandsforbothlocalandglobalroaminguse.

Notsurprisingly,thedemandforglobalroamingwith3Gputfurtherpressurefor inclusionof

additionalroamingbandsinhandsets.

The advent of LongTerm Evolution (LTE) technology will place additional frequency band

requirements on mobile device manufacturers, as LTE supports interworking with the legacy

technologies. As LTE technology matures and home network coverage increases, device

manufacturerswillbeexpectedtosupportthelocaland roamingbandswhichsupportthis

technologyaswell.This,inpractice,couldmeansupportingtwotothreeadditionalfrequency

bands, on top of what is required for the legacy technologies. Currently, over 30 frequency

bandsaresupportedinthestandardsforLTE,asdepictedbelow.


34/50

34|P a g e

AsnetworkcapabilitiesevolvefurtherintotheHSPA+domainandentertheLTEdomain,smart

phones and their associated features have become a growing area of industry attention and

benchmarking. One common benchmark of a mobile device identifies the radio technology

supportedinaparticularfrequencybandsupport(seeoneexamplebelow).

[Source: www.tmobile.com]

On

a

basic

level,

this

provides

an

idea

of

where

(or

on

what

network)

the

device

can

operate

andwhatlevelofoperationcanbesupported(e.g.GSM/EDGEversusUMTS/HSPA).

Today,mostsmartphonessupportthefourGSM/EDGEfrequencybands,allowingforsupport

ofboth localoperationsandglobalroaming.The localGSM/EDGEoperations intheAmericas

includemainlythe850and1900MHzbands,andtheGSM/EDGEglobalroamingbandsinclude

the 900 and 1800 MHz bands. When considering the 3G band, the focus in the Americas is

typicallyon23frequencybands.Theseincludethe850MHz(cellular),1900MHz(PCS)andthe

AWS(1700/2100MHz)band,dependingontheoperatorsrequirements. Incaseswhereglobal

3Groamingsupportisdesired,the1900/2100MHzbandprevails,withthe900MHzbandbeing

concurrentlysupportedinsomecases.

Consequently, WCDMA/HSPA implementations across the globe have resulted in spectral

fragmentation into the aforementioned5majorbands (850,900, 1700/2100,1900and2100

MHz bands). In the extreme case, a mobile device capable of supporting the 4 GSM/EDGE

bandsand5WCDMA/HSPAbandswouldbecapableofsupportingfull2Gand3Goperationon

agloballevel. Therearesomehighendsmartphonedevicesavailablewhichcansupportthis

configurationtoday,butthislevelofsupportiscertainlynotwidespreadatthistime.

Compoundingmatters,devicemanufacturersalsofacetherealitythatnotallfrequencybands

areequal from an implementationstandpoint.Considerations here include whether or not

thebandisahighbandoralowbandaswellasthespectralproximityofagivenbandto

otherbands.


35/50

35|P a g e

B. LimitsonFrequencyBandSupport

In theory, there is no hard upper limit on the number of frequency bands that can be

supported in a mobile device. However, there are very pragmatic limits on the number of

bands, driven generally by cost, size, and performance issues. An additional frequency band

increases the number of RF components required in the device, resulting in bill of material

increasesaswellasadditionalpressuresonlimitedrealestateinsidethedevice.

Theimpactofaddinganadditionalbandalsodependsonwhatbandisbeingaddedrelativeto

whatotherbandsarepresentinthedevice. Iftheadditionalbandliesclosetoanexistingband,

itmaybepossibletocoverthisadditionalbandwithsomeofthesameRFcomponentsandthe

existing antenna(s). If the additional band is far away from other bands there is a much

greaterimpactoncostandsize. New,possiblydedicatedRFcomponentsmustbeaddedandin

somecasesevenanadditionalantenna(orantennas).

Sometimes,antennasaredesignedtocovermultiplebandsinthemobiledevicewherefeasible.

There can be a performance tradeoff in attempting to increase antenna bandwidth to

accommodate new bands. These tradeoffs can be particularly acute if the new band is a

prioritybandfortheoperator,whichmightotherwisedrivedevicevendorstobuildnarrower

antenna bandwidths so as to obtain better overtheair performance. In this case, the cost

versusperformancecalculationcanbeparticularlyvexingforoperatorsandtheirvendors.

C. ImpactonDeviceComponents

(1)BasicHandsetDesign.

Atitsmostelemental,mobileRFdevicesconsistofoneormorefrontendmodules(FEMs)

connectedtodigitalbasebandunitsaswellasoneormoreantennas. Onerepresentationofa

multibandradiodesignidentifyingthesevariouscomponentsisprovidedbelow.


36/50

36|P a g e

[Source: RTTEconomics,September2010]

The FEMs manage the RF signal paths into and out of the device, and include numerous

componentssuchasfiltersandamplifiers. Manyfrontendfunctionsareanalog innature,as

befitstheradiowavesexitingandenteringthedevice. Incontrast,thebasebandunitsperform

thecomplexdigitalsignalprocessingrequiredtoencodeordecodeRFtransmissionsaccording

to the technology embedded in baseband chips. Although baseband, FEM and antenna

performance are closely interrelated, spectrum fragmentation has comparatively more

significanceonthedesignandperformanceofantennasandFEMsthanbasebandunits,duein

nosmallmeasuretotheirdependenceonthephysicallayoutofthevariousdeviceelements.

(2)Antennas.

A critical consequence of spectrum fragmentation relates to the feasibility of manufacturing

deviceswithincreasinglymoresophisticatedantennaetechnology. Forexample,theabilityfor

mobiledevicesusingHSPA+andLTEtechnologiestoprovideeverhigherdataratesovertime

dependsontheincorporationofinnovativenewtechniques. Oncesuchinnovationisknownas

MIMO Multiple Input/MultipleOutput whichallowsthedevicetosenddatatoandfrom

thenetworkonparalleldatastreams,thusboostingthetheoreticaldataratesofthesedevices.

Asadesignmatter,MIMOrequiresthatmultipleradiopathsbesupportedwithinthespectrum

bands designated for HSPA+ or LTE. In practice, this means multiple antennas must be


37/50

37|P a g e

implemented in the mobile device for these bands, meaning not only additional antenna

elementsbutalsofrontendcomponents.

Multiple antenna techniques such as MIMO depend on antenna separation, polarization and

radiation pattern in order to achieve the best possible performance. If there is coupling

betweentheantennas,thepositiveperformanceeffectofMIMOmightbereduced,particularly

dueto increased losses(i.e.,antennaefficiency). Theresult issuboptimalperformance,with

datarateslowerthandesired,includingthepossibilityofbeinglowerthaninthesingleantenna

case.

Asaveryroughestimate,aminimum0.15wavelengthseparationbetweenantennasisneeded

toallowamobiledevicetoachieveitstargetperformancelevels. Inthecaseof700MHzthis

wouldmeanaphysicalseparationofapproximately2.5 inchesbetweentheantennas. When

considering the 1900 MHz band this would translate to roughly 1 inch. Clearly, there is a

sizeable

difference

between

these

separation

requirements

when

considering

support

for

differentspectrumbandsandtheconsequentimpactonthesizeofthedevice.

Experience from commercial launch LTE networks suggests that MIMO can perform in small

mobile device form factors comparably in lower frequencies as in higher frequencies,

notwithstanding the need for increased wavelength separations. The problem arises when

more and more spectrum bands need to be introduced into the device to provide sufficient

bandwidth(aswellasforotherconsiderationsincludingroamingandcoveragerequirements),

whichpresentsadditional,significantdesignchallengesformobiledevices.

Device

manufacturers

must

also

consider

the

following

factors

in

their

device

designs

when

incorporatingmultipleantennatechnologies:

Frequencybandofoperation

Signaltonoise(SNR)targets

Interferencemitigationtargets(fromusersbothinsidethecellandinadjacentcells)

Formfactorofthedevice

OtherradiosinthedevicewhichmayincludeWiFi,GPS,Bluetooth,andFMRadio

Whenthesefactorsareconsideredandthenextendedtoincludemultiplefrequencybandsof

operation,thedesignequationbecomesdramaticallymorecomplex. Theaboveconsiderations

alldependtovariousdegreesonthefrequencybandsemployedinthedevice.Theotherradios

presentinadevicemayoperatenearoneoftherequiredmobilefrequencybands,forexample,

ormayrequiresomeadditionalisolationinsideofthedevicefromotherbands.


38/50

38|P a g e

(3)OtherComponents.

Asthebandrequirementsformobiledevicescontinuetogrow,andbandsbecomeincreasingly

fragmented, device manufacturers face growing challenges associated with finding the

additionalrealestatewithinthedeviceforadditionalfrontendcomponentsandantennas. The

additionalfrontelementsdonotscaletoquitethesamedegreeasbasebandunits,duepartly

totheirdependenceonphysicallayoutandspaceconstraints.

As a result, including new bands in a device adds nonrecurring engineering (NRE) and

production costs. This would not prove problematic to the extent the market for the newly

designed device was sufficiently large so that the costs could be amortized over a large

customerbase. However,bydefinition,devicesincorporatingnonharmonizedspectrumbands

will findappeal inonly isolatedmarkets,whichsave forChinaor India,willalmost invariably

lackthenecessaryscale.

D. AdditionalBandProliferation/FragmentationImpacts

Itshouldalsonotbeoverlookedthatspectrumbandproliferationandfragmentationcanhave

impactsonthecostandperformanceofradionetwork infrastructure. Existingradiosatbase

stationsmayneedtobeupgraded,orentirelynewradiosmayneedtobedeployed. Increased

CAPEXwillberequiredforthenewinfrastructure,whichfrequentlyalsoentailsincreasedOPEX

for servicing and maintaining the equipment. See below for a schematic of modern base

station architecture, wherein radios (remote radio units or RRUs) are increasingly situated

closertotheantennaunits(AUs).

[Source: DesignArtNetworks(2010)]


39/50

39|P a g e

4.1.3 ILLUSTRATIONS

Mexico

In November 2010, Mexico initiated a consultation to solicit information on the potential to

make

spectrum

available

in

three

bands:

700

MHz,

1.7/2.1

GHz

and

3.4

3.7

GHz.36

With

respecttothesecondcategory,Cofetelsoughtspecificresponsestoquestionsabout175570

MHzand21552170MHz. This30MHz isanextensiontothe90MHzofAWS1 frequencies

which were auctioned in 2010. Together, they constitute 3GPP Band X, a band harmonized

throughoutthishemisphereforHSPAandLTE. Thequestionsweredesignedtoprovideinput

on interest inand optimaluses for theband, device ecosystem and infrastructure readiness,

preferredchannelization,andpossibleauctionconcepts.37

Canada

InJune2010,IndustryCanadacommencedaconsultationonthetransitiontoBroadbandRadio

Service (BRS) in the25002690MHzbandandassociatedmodificationsto theexistingband

plan. Withrespecttothebandplan,IndustryCanadaoutlinesthebenefitsanddisadvantages

oftwopossibleoptions,oneconsistentwiththeUSallocationandtheotherconsistentwithITU

Option1andwhichisbeingadoptedbynumerouscountriesacrosstheglobe. IndustryCanada

concludesbyproposingtoadoptITUOption1andseekinginputontheimplicationsofsucha

bandplan.38

Brazil

Anatel ismoving toacceleratetheprocessof licensing the2.5GHzband,whichwasrecently

reserved formobiletelephonyserviceandalignedwith ITUOption1. Accordingto thedraft

schedule,theauctionmayoccurinearly2011,atleastoneyearaheadofpreviousforecasts. If

thetendertakesplaceinFebruary2011,LTEnetworksmaybedeployedinBrazilby2013.

36 http://www.cft.gob.mx/es/CofetelCofetel_2008/Cuestionario_para_la_banda_1721_GHz(11November2010).

4GAmericasfiledcommentsinsupportoftakingactionconsistentwiththeBandXregionalharmonization

scheme.

37 Asnotedearlierinthispaper,theUnitedStateshasrecentlybegunanexaminationintowhethergovernment

spectrumat17551850MHzcanberepurposedforcommercialwirelessbroadbanduse. Suchactionscouldalso

besynergisticwiththeBandXallocationinthehemisphere.

38 ICconsultation: http://www.ic.gc.ca/eic/site/smt gst.nsf/eng/sf09881.html.4GAmericasfiledcommentsinthe

proceeding,availableat http://www.ic.gc.ca/eic/site/smt gst.nsf/vwapj/dgso001103GAmericas

comments.pdf/$file/dgso001103GAmericascomments.pdf


40/50

40|P a g e

4.2 MARKET ORIENTED ASSIGNMENT APPROACHES WORK SPECTRUM CAPSSHOULD BE

DISFAVORED.

Since1998,spectrumcaps the totalamountofspectrumthatanoperatorcanownhave

beenappliedbyLatinAmericanregulators inanattempttostimulatecompetitionby limiting

theabilityoftheestablishedoperatorstoacquirenewspectrum,fuelingnewentrantstoenter

themarket,anddiscouragingmergers. Themajorityofcountries intheregionhavethreeor

four mobile operators competing in the market. With mobile penetration in Latin America

above96%, the region is ripe for theadvancementofmobilebroadbandservices. However,

such deployment is being constrained by spectrum caps, which creates lengthy delays every

time new auctions are planned. Existing operators with costefficient access to capital and

operational knowledge are often prohibited from participating. Given the degree of

competition in countries applying them, caps may not be necessary to ensure a competitive

market, and may actually undermine those countries goals of deploying spectrumintensive

mobilebroadbandtechnologies.Capsmaydiscourageoperator investment inbothurbanand

ruralareas,andraisecostsforconsumers.

Recentacademicworksupportstheseconclusions. BerkeleyUniversityProfessorMichaelKatz

summarizestherisksasfollows:

Spectrum caps act as a tax on success and can distort and limit

competition. A binding spectrum cap can increase the costs of

expansion foraserviceproviderthathasdevelopedasuccessful

business model that requires additional spectrum to meet

consumer demand for its services. A spectrum cap therefore

punishessuccessand,thus,discouragesfirmsfromcompetingto

attractconsumersthroughimprovedservicesandlowerprices.39

Econometric modeling of the impact of spectrum caps in Chile, Argentina and Colombia

suggests this very outcome caps can increase prices and lower service quality, the very

objectivespresumablydisfavoredbypolicymakers. FranciscoMarroqunUniversityProfessor

Wayne Leightons quantification of the impact of spectrum caps in these markets led to the

followingconclusions:(a)halvingthespectrumavailabletoanoperatorforLTEfrom40MHzto

20

MHz

resulted

in

a

doubling

of

costs

to

provide

service;

and

(b)

a

further

halving

to

10

MHz

39 DeclarationofMichaelL.Katz,PublicPolicyPrinciplesforPromotingEfficientWirelessInnovationand

Investment, inFCCDocket0966,30September2009.


41/50

41|P a g e

led to a further quadrupling of the cost of LTE service. Higher costs invariably lead to lowerdemand,andhenceloweradoption,ofmobilebroadband.40Asthemobilewirelessindustrymovestothenextgenerationoftechnologiesandservices,thespectrumcapsofthe1990sseemantiquatedandbuiltuponapasteraoflowpenetrationvoiceservices. Inmanycountriestheoldspectrumcaprulesarebecominglimitingfactorstobringingtomarketnewbroadbandservicesandapplicationsthatwouldbenefitsociety.As spectrum regulators review their countries specific caps, they should consider a few keyquestions:

1. Does significant and measurable operator competition exist in themarketplace?2. Is enough spectrum available today for operators to commercially deploymobile broadband data technologies such as HSPA+ and LTE in the next fewyears?3. Is the country proactively aligning with International TelecommunicationUnion(ITU)orotherestablishedguidelinesfortheamountofspectrumrequiredtofomentthenextgenerationofwirelesstechnologies?

The following table shows the current spectrum caps applied in large markets such asArgentina,Brazil,Chile,Colombia,MexicoandPeru.

40 WayneA.Leighton,MeasuringtheEffectsofSpectrumAggregationLimits: ThreeCaseStudiesfromLatinAmerica(25October2009).


42/50

42|P a g e

TheresultsofMexicanspectrumAuctions20&21heldinJuly2010servetodemonstratethe

consequences of imposing spectrum caps in an era of skyrocketing demand for mobile

broadband. ThespectrumcapestablishedbytheCFC(ComisinFederaldeCompetencia)for

Auctions 20 & 21 meant that the maximum amount of spectrum that any operator could

accumulate,includinganyspectrumheldin850MHz,1900MHzand1700/2100MHz,couldnot

exceed 80 MHz. Due to the fact that three of the four operators had more than 50 MHz

accumulatedinseveraloratleastoneofthenineregionswheretheauctionwasgoingtotake

place,thiseffectivelymeantthatnoneofthemcouldbidforanationwideAWSlicensebecause

theywouldthenexceedthe80MHzcapinoneormoreoftheregionsmonitoredbytheCFC.

Theendresultisthatofthe90MHzavailableinthisbandfor3nationwidelicenses,onlyone

licensewasawardedtoanewconsortium,whileonelicensewentwithoutasinglebid.

Similarly, Colombias auction of spectrum in the 25002690 MHz band in July 2010

demonstratestheflawsofbluntlyappliedspectrumcaps. TheColombiangovernmentimposed

anewspectrumcapof55MHz fortheestablishedandnewoperators inthe850MHz,1900

MHzand25002690MHzbandsANDalsomandatedthatminimumbidswouldneedtobeat

least30MHz. Inpractice,thismeantthatthethreeestablishedoperatorscouldnotparticipate,

andthatthisspectrumwasofflimitstothoseoperators.41

Insummary,spectrumcapsinplaceinsomecountriesinLatinAmericawillinhibitanddelaythe

deploymentofmobilebroadbandservices. Capscanactually limitcompetition by restricting

outputandpreventingmobileoperators fromgrowingand innovating. Severalmore flexible

regulatoryalternativeshavebeenimplementedbyothercountriestoaddresspotentiallackof

competition

and

to

achieve

universal

service

goals

without

having

to

depend

upon

distortive

overall spectrum aggregation limits. In general, casebycase review of a markets

competitiveness,asreflectedbytheabsenceofanysingleproviderbeingabletocontrolprice

orrestrictoutput,isapreferabletool. Suchanapproachwillbetterallowformobilebroadband

tobedeployedtoconsumersthroughouttheAmericas.

41 ColombiasMinistryofICT,ithasbeenreported,recentlydecidedtoraiseitsspectrumcapto60MHz.

http://www.telecomsinsight.com/file/95347/colombiacreatescapacityformobilebroadbandgrowth.html.

Tellingly,thisreportalsoindicatesthatdatafromtheMinistryshowsthatmobiledatausagehasgrown

exceptionallyinColombia.


43/50

43|P a g e

4.2.1 ILLUSTRATIONS

UnitedStates

In2001,theFederalCommunicationsCommission(FCC)decidedtoeliminatespectrumcapsof

55

MHz

(in

all

geographic

service

areas)

and

replace

them

with

a

case

by

case

competitive

reviewtoensurecompetition. Ascreeningguidelinewasadopted,atwhichlevelanoperators

spectrumholdingsandsituationcouldbereviewedforpotentialanticompetitiveeffects.Since

theeliminationofspectrumcaps,theU.S.hasledtheworldinmobilebroadbanddeployment.

Presently, the screening guideline is defined as between 95 145 MHz, depending on the

availabilityofAWS1and/or2.6GHzBRSspectruminagivenmarket.

Canada

In 2004, Industry Canada (IC) eliminated its spectrum caps after finding that the policy to

overseespectrumconcentrationhadbecomelessrelevant.

UnitedKingdom

Competition intheU.K.mobilemarkethasbeenenabledbythe issuanceofseparate licenses

ratherthanbytheimpositionofspectrumcaps.ThesectorregulatorOfcomhaspronouncedin

favor of applying general competition policy and relaxing restrictions on spectrum use to

resolve or preempt potential competition problems, accompanied by bandspecific spectrum

caps that are loose and flexible. Ofcom is planning an auction of the 2.6 GHz band in 2012

accordingtothefollowingguidelines:

Technology andservice neutrality

Alooseorsafeguardbandspecificspectrumcapof80MHz(outof190MHz)

Norolloutorcoverageobligations

Acquiredspectrumwillbetradable


44/50

44|P a g e

4.3 THERE ISNO TIME TO LOSESPECTRUMALLOCATIONS CAN TAKE YEARS TO

EFFECTUATE

Foravarietyofreasons,theprocessofallocatingspectrumhastraditionallytakenfiveormore

yearstocomplete. IntheUnitedStates,forexample,themajorbandsformobilebroadband

servicehavetakenanywherefromsixtothirteenyearstocompletethereallocationprocess,as

illustratedinthechartbelow.

Band First Step Available for Use Approximate Time Lag

Cellular (Advanced Mobile Phone System) 1970 1981 11 years

PCS 1989 1995 6 years

Educational Broadband Service (EBS)Broadband Radio Service (BRS)

1996 2006 10 years

700 MHz 1996 2009 13 years

AWS-1 2000 2006 6 years

[Source: FCCBroadbandPlan,March2010]

Whilecircumstanceswillcertainlyvarybycountryandbyspectrumband,onecanreasonably

conclude from prior history and current circumstances that the process will unfold generally

along similarly timescales and certainly so if the process to identify spectrum for mobile

broadbandisnotundertakenwithakeensenseofurgency.


45/50

45|P a g e

4.3.1 ILLUSTRATIONS

Mexico

On 2 September 2010, Mexican President Felipe Caldern issued a decree to accelerate the

countrys

transition

from

analog

to

digital

TV,

freeing

up

700

MHz

frequencies

currently

used

by

broadcasterswiththeintentiontoauctionthisspectrumby2012. Underthedecree,allanalog

TVtransmissionsaretomigratefullytodigitalstandardsby2015,sixyearsaheadoftheoriginal

plan. Cofetel has been instructed to auction the 700 MHz band for next generation mobile

broadbandservices,withpreliminaryexpectationsofUS$10billioninauctionreceipts. Mexico

isthefirstcountryinLatinAmericatoannounceaDigitalDividendspectrumauctionandunder

its proposed schedule will also be the first country in the region to conclude the analog

transition.

Moreover,inearlyJanuary2011,Cofetelannouncedthatitwasworkingtorelease300MHzof

spectrumfromthe700MHz,1.7/2.1GHz,and3.43.7GHzbandswithintwentyfourmonths.

Thiswouldbethemostambitiousprogramtoreleasespectrumeverconducted,andwould if

accomplishedresultinadoublingofthespectrumcurrentlydedicatedtowirelessservices.42

Brazil

OnDecember2010Anatelconcludedtheauctionofaleftoverblockof20MHzofthe1.9/2.1

GHz band which was initially auctioned in December 2007. The amount received by the

government for this auction was US $ 1.7 billion dollars for 13 lots of the so called HBand.

Eleven(Lots14,67and913)ofthethirteenlotswerewonbyNextelBrasil,onelot(#5) by

CTBC,andanotherlot(#7)byTIM.

42http://eleconomista.com.mx/industrias/2011/01/05/avanzaplancadenastv


46/50

46|P a g e

5. CLOSING CONSIDERATIONS Mobile broadband in the Americas is in a delicate state. On the one hand, the growth in

subscribershiphasbeenphenomenal,amobilemiracleinthewordsoftheITU. Ontheother

hand, the industry lacks sufficient incremental supply of one of its essential raw materials

spectrum. Our review of the literature leads us to the conclusion that mobile broadband

networks will hit capacity shortages by the middle of the decade unless steps are taken tosecuretheadditionalspectrumneeded.

Such steps need to be taken today to avoid these risks. The industry has a long history of

drivinginnovationinradioaccesstechnologies,fromEDGEthroughHSPAtoLTE,allowingitto

exploitspectrumassetsasintensivelyaspossible. Inparallel,theindustryhasinvestedbillions

inbuildingcellsitestoenhancenetworkcoverageandcapacity. Suchstepswillcontinuetobe

needed,andthereisnoindicationofdeploymentslowing.

Atthesametime,incrementalspectrumallocationsformobilebroadbandarevital. Countries

mustbeginnow, iftheyhavenotdonesoalready,toplanforthefuture inordertopreserve

thepromiseofthemobilemiracle. Historically,spectrumallocationscantakeatleast5years,

andoftenlonger,toimplement.

4G Americas offers the following guideposts to help stakeholders in the region in working

togethertosecureabrightmobilebroadbandtomorrow.

1. WellConsideredSpectrumAllocationPoliciesareImperative

A. ConfigureLicenseswithWiderBandwidthsB. GroupLikeServicesTogetherC. BeMindfulofGlobalStandardsD. PursueHarmonized/ContiguousSpectrumAllocationsE. ExhaustExclusiveUseOptionsBeforePursuingSharedUseF. NotAllSpectrumisFungibleAlignAllocationwithDemand

2. Marketorientedspectrumassignmentapproachesworkspectrumcaps

shouldbedisfavored.

3. Thereisnotimetolosespectrumallocationscantakeyearstoeffectuate.

4GAmericas,aswellasitsmembercompanies,standpreparedtoaidstakeholdersinthe

regioninsecuringthepromiseofmobilebroadband.


47/50

47|P a g e

6. APPENDICES

6. 1 ABBREVIATIONS

3GPP

Third

Generation

Partnership

Project

ANATELAgnciaNacionaldeTelecomunicaes(Braziliantelecomregulator)

AUAntennaUnit

Bits/s/HzBitsperSecondperHertz,ameasureofspectralefficiency

bpsBitsperSecond

CAGRCompoundAnnualGrowthRate

CAPEXCapitalExpenditure

CDMACodeDivisionMultipleAccess

CFC ComisinFederaldeCompetencia(competitionagencyinMexico)

COFETEL ComisinFederaldeTelecommunicaciones(telecomregulatorinMexico)

CRTC CanadianRadioandTelecommunicationsCommission

dBDecibel

dBmDecibelratioofwattsto1milliwatt

ECEuropeanCommission

EDGEEnhancedDataRatesforGSMEvolution

EUEuropeanUnion

FCCFederalCommunicationsCommission

FDDFrequencyDivisionDuplex

FEMFrontEndModule

FTPFileTransferProtocol

GBGigabyte

Gbps

Gigabits

per

Second

GGSNGatewayGPRSSupportNode

GHzGigahertz

GPRSGeneralPacketRadioService

GSMGlobalSystemforMobilecommunications

GSMAGSMAssociation

HSPAHighSpeedPacketAccess(HSDPAwithHSUPA)

HSPA+HighSpeedPacketAccessPlus(alsoknownasHSPAEvolutionorEvolvedHSPA)

HzHertz

ICIndustryCanada

IMTInternationalMobileTelecommunications

IMTAIMTAdvanced

IPInternetProtocol

ITUInternationalTelecommunicationsUnion

KbpsKilobitsperSecond

LTELongTermEvolution(evolvedairinterfacebasedonOFDMA)

LTEALTEAdvanced

M2MMachinetoMachine


48/50

48|P a g e

MbpsMegabitsperSecond

MHzMegahertz

MIMOMultipleInput/MultipleOutput

msMillisecond

OBIFCCsOmnibusBroadbandInitiative

OFCOMU.K.communicationsregulatoryauthority

OFDMOrthogonalFrequencyDivisionMultiplexing

OFDMAOrthogonalFrequencyDivisionMultipleAccess(airinterface)

OPEXOperatingExpenses

P2PPeertoPeer

RANRadioAccessNetwork

Rel.XRelease99,Release4,Release5,etc.of3GPPStandards

RFRadioFrequency

RXReceive

RNCRadioNetworkController

RRURemoteRadioUnit

SAESystemArchitectureEvolution,alsoknownasEPC

SGSNServingGPRSSupportNode

SNRSignaltoNoiseRatio

TETerminalEquipment

TXTransmit

UEUserEquipment

ULUplink

UMTSUniversalMobileTelecommunicationsSystem

UNCTADUnitedNationsConferenceonTradeandDevelopment

WANWideAreaNetwork

WWWWorldWideWeb

WiMAXWorldwideInteroperabilityforMicrowaveAccess


49/50

49|P a g e

6. 2 SELECTEDREFERENCES

Akamai,StateoftheInternetQ32010(January2011),availablewithfreeregistrationat

http://www.akamai.com/stateoftheinternet/

AllotCommunications,MobileTrendsReportH22010(8February2011),availablewithfree

registrationathttp://www.allot.com/index.aspx?id=4070&fileID=3710

Berry,HonigandVohra,SpectrumMarkets: Motivations,Challenges&Implications(IEEE

CommunicationsMagazine,November2010).

CiscoVisualNetworkingIndex:GlobalMobileDataTrafficForecastUpdate,201015(1

February2011),

http://www.cisco.com/en/US/solutions/collateral/ns341/ns525/ns537/ns705/ns827/white

_paper_c11520862.pdf

FCC,NationalBroadbandPlan,Chapter5:Spectrum(March2010),

http://www.broadband.gov/plan/5spectrum/#_edn67

FCC,OBITechnicalPaperNo.6,MobileBroadband: theBenefitsofAdditionalSpectrum(21

October2010), http://download.broadband.gov/plan/thebroadbandavailabilitygapobi

technicalpaperno1.pdf

ITU,EstimatedSpectrumBandwidthRequirementsfortheFutureDevelopmentofIMT2000

andIMTAdvanced,ReportITURM.2078(2006).

NGMNAlliance,SpectrumRequirementsfortheNextGenerationofMobileNetworks(20

June2007),

http://www.ngmn.org/uploads/media/Spectrum_Requirements_for_the_Next_Gener

Documents

4G Americas Mobile Broadband Spectrum Requirements March 2011