Spectrum, mobile & wireless update October 2017

Legal challenges to Ofcom’s 4G/5G spectrum auction:

Writing in the Financial Times, Ofcom Chief Executive Sharon White defended the regulator's decision to cap the amount of mobile spectrum an operator can control, after legal actions were launched last month by BT/EE and Three in relation to Ofcom’s forthcoming 4G and 5G spectrum auction. She also flagged the delay this will create for the roll-out of 5G services in the UK, with Ofcom originally hoping to complete its auction this year.

Three is arguing for a 30% cap on the amount of spectrum any one operator can hold (Ofcom has proposed 37%) while BT/EE is arguing that it should not be restricted by any cap on the amount of 5G spectrum it can hold. Also see coverage from Out-Law. The Financial Times also reported BT’s addition of a separate element to its challenge in relation to spectrum held by UK Broadband, previously acquired by Three. The Telegraph reported remarks by Vodafone that its rivals are being “selfish” in challenging the auction rules and that 5G should be deployed as quickly as possible.

Policy and regulatory developments:

DCMS announced the 5G Testbeds and Trials competition, a £25m initiative that is part of the Government’s £740m National Productivity Investment Fund (NPIF) to support the next generation of digital infrastructure, including 5G and full fibre broadband. The Government is encouraging interested parties from all around the UK to put forward test locations and project proposals for match funded grants of up to £5 million; also see the prospectus for 5G testbeds and trials.

The Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport (DCMS) announced the introduction of draft regulations to Parliament to reform the Electronic Communications Code in order to speed up the rollout of mobile and broadband services. The changes will bring down the rents telecoms operators pay to landowners to install equipment, make it easier for operators to upgrade and share their equipment with other operators to help increase coverage and make it easier for telecoms operators and landowners to resolve legal disputes. The new Code, reformed through the Digital Economy Act, is expected to take effect in December 2017.

The Welsh Government published a new action plan to improve mobile connectivity in Wales. It focuses on nine key areas where the Welsh Government can use the levers at its disposal and its influence to help improve connectivity and capacity, including reforms to planning, use of public sector assets as sites for mobile infrastructure and the potential for reducing non-domestic rates for new mobile infrastructure.

The Body of European Regulators of Electronic Communications (BEREC) and the European Commission Radio Spectrum Policy Group (RSPG) published for consultation a draft joint report on facilitating mobile connectivity in ‘challenge areas’. The report provides “a comprehensive and comparative assessment of initiatives to facilitate mobile connectivity in ‘challenge areas’, where mobile connectivity is limited or non-existent. It particularly focuses on regulatory and legal measures that have been adopted to resolve that issue.”

Service and technology developments:

The City of London Corporation launched its gigabit WiFi network offering workers, residents and visitors speeds ranging from 50 to 180 Mbit/s. Over 150 WiFi access points have been installed using City of London street furniture; further background here and here.

The US Federal Communications Commission (FCC) granted an experimental license for Project Loon, led by Google's parent company Alphabet, to help provide emergency cellular service in Puerto Rico. Project Loon is network of balloons traveling on the edge of space, designed to extend Internet connectivity to people in rural and remote areas. Also see coverage from CCS Insight and BBC News.

WiFi security:

The KRACK (key reinstallation attacks) WiFi vulnerability was identified by researchers; the UK National Cyber Security Centre (NCSC) published guidance on how to address this for enterprise, small business and home users. The NCSC also noted how this vulnerability again underlines the importance of patching policies and procedures as a “business as usual” activity. Also see BBC News.

Further 5G developments:

The Cambridge Judge Business School published a new report on the cost, coverage and roll-out implications of future UK 5G networks; it suggests that 5G will reach 90% of the UK population by 2027, but coverage is unlikely to reach the final 10% due to exponentially increasing costs.

The European Commission published its latest study on spectrum assignments that will support the EU's work towards successful 5G deployment: “whilst stakeholders would generally prefer to continue licensing spectrum on an exclusive, individual basis, wider adoption of a greater variety of spectrum assignment approaches would benefit the introduction of 5G services, unlocking some of the new use cases whilst supporting Digital Single Market objectives.”

Qualcomm demonstrated mobile internet speeds of 1Gbit/s using a 5G smartphone chip, claiming this to be the first working 5G connection on a mobile device.

Verizon announced it will accelerate its 5G New Radio (NR) field trials with a goal of launching its next-generation networks in the US in 2019.

The Australian Government announced its 5G strategy, setting out immediate actions to support the timely rollout of 5G in Australia. These include making spectrum available in a timely manner, actively engaging in the international standardisation process, streamlining arrangements to allow mobile carriers to deploy infrastructure more quickly and reviewing existing telecommunications regulatory arrangements to ensure they are fit-for-purpose. Analysys Mason was commissioned by the Australian Communications and Media Authority (ACMA) in 2017 to assess the market opportunities and the risks associated with more-flexible, dynamic, market-based management approaches for spectrum; key findings from this study are available here and the full ACMA study is available here.

Ericsson published its annual 5G Readiness Survey, which found that many operators have accelerated preparations for the new technology and trials are being carried out by 78% of respondents. Twenty-eight percent of respondents expect to deploy 5G next year. Operators have further developed their business strategies for 5G services and are now looking beyond the consumer market to additional opportunities in enterprise and industrial markets.

Lightwave published an overview of the new opportunities 5G will create for optical networking, as the optimal solution to the data rate and latency issues raised by 5G deployment, estimating that by 2026 annual investment in optical infrastructure for 5G backhaul will have reached $1.5 billion.

Network World suggested that 5G offers the potential for mobile-only networking.

CCS Insight suggested that while the advent of 5G offers many new applications and opportunities, “fast Internet access on consumer and enterprise smartphones will be the dominant area of adoption of fifth-generation networks in the near future. Even by the end of 2025, it will still represent a huge 99 percent of all 5G connections, bolstered by insatiable demand for video consumption.”

Ofcom developments:

• A progress update on work to clear spectrum in the 700 MHz band, to make it available for mobile broadband use (further background on this here). The programme is expected to be completed in 2020 as planned.
• A decision to licence exempt two categories of mobile phone repeaters, which amplify signals between a mobile phone and the network operators’ base stations, enhancing coverage. The new regulations exempting these two types of devices from requiring a licence will come into force early in 2018.
• A new statement on improving consumer access to mobile services at 3.6 GHz to 3.8 GHz. This band has been identified by the UK and EU as the primary band for the rollout of 5G services, due to the large amount of spectrum available and its propagation characteristics. Ofcom intends to make this band available for mobile use as soon as practicable, and award the remaining 116 MHz in the band for future mobile services in 2019 following consultation during 2018.