Spectrum, mobile & wireless update July 2016

5G developments:

• The U.S. Federal Communications Commission (FCC) set out new rules for wireless broadband operations in frequencies above 24 GHz, making the United States the first country in the world to make this spectrum available for next generation wireless services. The new rules (which open up nearly 11 GHz of high-frequency spectrum for flexible, mobile and fixed use wireless broadband – 3.85 GHz of licensed spectrum and 7 GHz of unlicensed spectrum) will enable rapid development and deployment of next generation 5G technologies and services (also see this fact sheet and report & order). Network World reported how this move was welcomed by the U.S. telecommunications sector.
• The White House announced new steps to maintain U.S. leadership in mobile technology with the launch of a $400 million Advanced Wireless Research Initiative led by the National Science Foundation (NSF). This will enable the deployment and use of four city-scale testing platforms for advanced wireless research over the next decade and builds upon the FCC’s new rules.
• The Information Technology & Innovation Foundation (ITIF) published 5G and Next Generation Wireless: Implications for Policy and Competition. This explores the range of potential applications for 5G technology across three broad categories: enhanced mobile broadband (in terms of greater capacity and lower latency), the Internet of Things (IoT) and critical infrastructure/public safety. Key policy considerations to promote the development of 5G include the 5G standardization process, facilitating continued improvements to fixed networks to provide the necessary backhaul for new mobile services (also see a related article from Light Reading) and ensuring that sufficient spectrum is available to support 5G services.
• A number of major European telecommunications companies presented a 5G Manifesto for timely deployment of 5G in Europe to the European Commission. This was in response to the Commission’s February announcement of its forthcoming 5G Action Plan and also the consultation by the Body of European Regulators for Electronic Communications (BEREC) on draft guidelines for the implementation of European net neutrality rules by national regulators (also see this related post). The Manifesto sets out the many opportunities presented by 5G technologies which will “require substantial investments in new infrastructure, a large amount of spectrum and new capabilities, as well as a close collaboration between telecom players and vertical industries”. The Manifesto also flags the importance of standards and creating the right regulatory environment to encourage the necessary investment.

Other spectrum, mobile & wireless news this month:

• Ofcom this month published a new consultation on fixed wireless spectrum to inform its future strategy in this area. Fixed wireless services are defined as “wireless links which operate between two or more fixed points and support various data-heavy applications – including backhaul services for mobile network operators, high-frequency trading and utilities.” Ofcom is keen to refine its understanding of how such services are used, market and technology trends and international developments, as well as to explore linkages with other activities such as its Mobile Data Strategy (more background here).
• Drivers for conducting the review now include growing consumer demand for mobile broadband, greater capacity and better coverage leading to an increased demand for backhaul capacity, as well as the outcomes from Ofcom’s Strategic Review of Digital Communications to promote new fibre networks based on providing access to BT’s duct and pole infrastructure: “improved access to fibre would increase attractiveness of fibre for future mobile backhaul solutions and reduce reliance on fixed wireless links.”
• Vodafone announced a new scheme for up to 100 rural community hubs (such as pubs, village halls and community run shops). The Community Indoor Sure Signal (CISS) initiative builds on the company’s Rural Open Sure Signal (ROSS) programme to provide reliable, indoor 3G mobile coverage and internet access based on femtocell technology.
• Facebook announced OpenCellular, an open-source mobile networking framework intended to improve connectivity in remote areas of the world: “With OpenCellular, we want to develop affordable new technology that can expand capacity and make it more cost-effective for operators to deploy networks in places where coverage is scarce. By open-sourcing the hardware and software designs for this technology, we expect costs to decrease for operators and to make it accessible to new participants.” Facebook also announced the first successful flight of Aquila, its solar-powered plane designed to provide Internet access to remote parts of the world. Network World reported on Facebook’s development of “a laser detector that could open the airwaves to new high-speed data communications systems that don't require dedicated spectrum or licenses”.
• Luminet and CCS announced a new partnership to roll out a small cell backhaul and enterprise network across London, which will “enable enterprises to receive up to 1Gbps internet access and provide mobile operators with readily-available wireless backhaul for their small cell deployments that will be needed to cope with the increase in mobile data, as well as support the future shift to 5G.”
• Finally Network World considered whether Wi-Fi is “finally fast enough”: recent evolutions mean the extent to which Wi-Fi is likely to be the limiting factor for any given connection is shrinking; maximum data rates for Wi-Fi have long outstripped the average U.S. domestic internet connection.