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The APT band plan A brief introduction
Stefan Zehle, CEO, Coleago
Consulting Ltd
June 2013
APT 700MHz FDD Band 28 and TDD Band 44
© Copyright Coleago 2013 2
703 – 748 MHz 758 – 803 MHz
FDD Mode – 3GPP Band 28
45 MHz 45 MHz
703 – 803 MHz
TDD Mode – 3GPP Band 44
100 MHz
The FDD band plan appears to be preferred
© Copyright Coleago 2013 3
Latin America:
Widespread FDD
adoption
APT FDD auction:
Australia in Feb
‘13, New Zealand in
Q4 2013
China: TDD
adoption planned
but not finalised
India: March 13,
APT FDD
adopted
Japan: APT FDD
allocated in 2012
Middle East &
Africa: Interest in
APT FDD
Other digital dividend band plans
© Copyright Coleago 2013 4
USA, Canada and
Caribbean
Europe
US 700MHz band plan which consists of
3GPP bands 12, 13, 14, 17
3GPP Band 20
Russia Non-3GPP 2x30MHz 700MHz FDD
How not to do it: The US 700MHz band plan
© Copyright Coleago 2013 5
A B C D E A B C C DPS
BB
PC
NBC D
PS
BB
PC
NB
6 6 6 6 6 6 6 6 11 5 5 6 11 5 5 6
Mobile Tx TDD Base TX Base Tx Base Tx Mobile Tx Mobile Tx
698M
Hz
716
MH
z
728
MH
z
746
MH
z
756
MH
z
768
MH
z
777
MH
z
788
MH
z
798
MH
z
8-6
MH
z
Band 12
Band 17
Band 13 Band 13 Band 13 Band 13Band 12
Band 17
Lower 700 Upper 700
Early adoption: incorporated in all LTE handsets sold in North America
Technology barriers to competition due to what are in effect the operator
proprietary band 17 (AT&T) and band 13 (Verizon)
Inefficient use of spectrum, today only 2x20MHz usable vs. 2x45 for APT
Europe: Only 2x30MHz available in band 20
Allocated in a number of European countries
Handsets with band 20 are sold since 2012
2x30MHz allocation poses problems in four player markets
© Copyright Coleago 2013 6
791 – 821 MHz 832 – 862 MHz
3GPP Band 20
30 MHz 30 MHz
Russia: Could it still move to APT?
The 2x30MHz 700MHz band plan is not harmonised
Close to the 700MHz APT band plan apart from mobile transmit
© Copyright Coleago 2013 7
Mobile Transmit Centre Gap Mobile Receive
Russia 720 MHz to 750 MHz
= 30 MHz
750 MHz to 761
MHz
761 MHz to 791
MHz = 30 MHz
APT Band Plan 703 MHz to 748 MHz
= 45 MHz
748 MHz to 758
MHz
758 MHz to 803
MHz = 45 MHz
Middle East and Africa
United Arab Emirates adopted the APT band plan in May 2013, but
using only part of the band
The UAE is adopting the 2 x 30 MHz channel plan for the 700 MHz
band, consisting of 703–733 MHz (uplink) paired with 758 – 788 MHz
(downlink).
Considerable interest in APT band plan in Africa.
© Copyright Coleago 2013 8
Chipsets are not the problem, band combinations are
Qualcomm’s RF360 mobile chip announced at the MWC this
year, supports:
– LTE-FDD, LTE-TDD, WCDMA, EV-DO, CDMA 1x, TD-
SCDMA and GSM / EDGE
– In 40 different LTE bands
However, this does not mean that all will be available in a single
handset.
– Handset manufacturers and operators have to make choices
– Today the number of LTE bands that can be switched on is
limited to 6 bands
© Copyright Coleago 2013 9
What matters are band combinations within a region
The 3GPP bands used in Region 2 and Region 3 are not the same
Region 2 devices will not sell in Region 3
Region 3 has to generate its own economies of scale
© Copyright Coleago 2013 10
Key LTE candidate bands differ between Regions 2 and 3
Region 3 – Asia & Australia
FDD
Band 1 (2100 MHz)
Band 3 (1800 MHz)
Band 5 (850 MHz)
Band 7 (2600 MHz)
Band 8 (900 MHz)
Band 28 (APT 700M Hz)
TDD
Band 34/a & Band 39/f
Band 40 (3.5 GHz)
Band 28 (3.6 GHz)
Band 44 (APT 700 MHz)
Region 2 – South America
FDD
Band 2 (1900 MHz)
Band 5 (850 MHz)
Band 7 (2600 MHz)
Band 10 (ext. AWS / 3G Americas)
Band 25 (E1900 MHz)
Band 26 (E850 MHz U)
Band 27 (E850 MHz L)
Band 28 (APT 700 MHz)
© Copyright Coleago 2013 11
Band combinations in devices are market specific
Samsung GALAXY S4
2.5G (GSM/ GPRS/ EDGE): 850 / 900 /
1800 / 1900 MHz
3G (HSPA+ 42Mbps): 850 / 900 / 1900 /
2100 MHz
4G (LTE Cat 3 100/50Mbps): up to 6
different band sets (dependent on
market)
© Copyright Coleago 2013 12
VoLTE is an important element of the APT band plan
Today LTE does not support voice and
requires CSFB.
700MHz is useful for rural coverage but
without CSFB also requires presence of
900MHz GSM / HSPA in the RAN.
Handset native CSFB will be available in
early / mid 2014, i.e. in about the same
time frame as handsets with APT 700MHz.
Rural coverage could be built with 700MHz
LTE only, but cost of LTE handsets may be
a challenge in the short term.
© Copyright Coleago 2013 13
Band aggregation adds further complexity
LTE band aggregation is already
available. The benefits are:
– High maximum potential speeds
– Some capacity gains through trunking
efficiency
Which bands are aggregated and when is
driven by regional market demand.
700MHz APT aggregation roadmap is yet
to be defined.
© Copyright Coleago 2013 14
70
0 M
Hz
70
0 M
Hz
2.6
GH
z
Mb
ps
Technology maker or technology taker?
Technology makers
Large markets are technology makers.
Volumes are large enough to specify
handsets with the desired band
combinations
Large operators can create their own
device eco-system, such as AT&T,
Verizon, China Mobile
Technology takers
Most countries fall into this category.
The best strategy is to observe
developments and be a fast follower.
Produces the benefits of new bands
and technology as early as possible
Allows consumers to benefit from
scale economies generated in larger
markets
© Copyright Coleago 2013 15
Regulators should time a spectrum allocation or auction process accordingly,
be ready to start the process but avoid rushing ahead.
