Spectrum, mobile & wireless update November 2016

UK spectrum: Ofcom issued a new consultation on an auction next year of 190 MHz of spectrum in the 2.3 GHz and 3.4 GHz bands. This represents an increase of just under a third of the total mobile spectrum currently available. The 40 MHz of spectrum to be sold in the 2.3 GHz band is already supported by mobile devices, such as the iPhone. These airwaves could be used immediately after release to provide extra capacity. The 150 MHz of spectrum to be sold in the 3.4 GHz band is not currently used by most mobile devices, but is likely to be in coming years. The 3.4GHz band has also been identified as central to the rollout of 5G across Europe

Ofcom proposes to apply a cap, of 255 MHz, on “immediately useable” spectrum that any one operator can buy. As a consequence of this proposed cap, BT/EE would not be able to bid for spectrum in the 2.3 GHz band. The consultation closes on 30 January 2017. Three launched a new campaign in response to Ofcom’s proposals, calling for Ofcom to ensure that no one mobile network can own more than 30% of the UK’s spectrum. Earlier in the month EE called for all mobile operators to deliver clearer information about where customers can expect to get a mobile signal. The Financial Times reported that Ofcom Chief Executive Sharon White had written to the heads of the UK mobile networks in relation to delivering 100% geographic mobile broadband coverage across the UK; more detail here.

700MHz: Reuters reported that the European Commission had approved plans to coordinate the rollout of the 700MHz spectrum band for wireless broadband by 2022 to provide faster mobile broadband and improved access to Internet services. More background on Ofcom’s plans for 700MHz spectrum here. The Finnish Communications Regulatory Authority announced the conclusion of its 700MHz spectrum auction; TeleGeography reported that the country’s three largest mobile operators all secured frequencies at prices which did not rise above their reserve values.

White space developments: Nominet and Broadway Partners announced that they will be working together to use TV white space (TVWS) to provide better broadband coverage for remote parts of Scotland and Wales. Last year Nominet was awarded the first qualification to operate a TV white space database by Ofcom (more background on white space technology here). The commercial broadband rollout will be the first of its kind in Europe and will start on the Isle of Arran.

5G: the GSMA called on governments and regulators to ensure an affordable, harmonised approach to enabling access to the significant amounts of spectrum required to support 5G services in the lead-up to the World Radiocommunication Conference in 2019 (WRC-19). The Wireless Broadband Alliance announced that the Internet of Things (IoT) and 5G are impractical without convergence and coexistence of licensed and unlicensed technologies: “Ultimately, success will depend on unlicensed technologies working in conjunction with licensed networks, enabling new performance levels and flexibility for service providers of all kinds.”

Telecompaper reported that the Italian government has announced plans to free up frequencies to launch trials of 5G technology in three Italian cities next year. Japan’s NTT DOCOMO announced that it will launch 5G Trial Sites in 2017 which will “enable customers to experience services and content leveraging 5G technology”. The company expects to launch a commercial 5G service in 2020. It also announced a trial 5G system for remote monitoring of self-driving vehicles and the achievement of more than 2.5Gbps with a mobile device in a vehicle travelling at 150km/h, as well as a trial involving 23 simultaneously connected mobile devices which achieved a cumulative 11.29Gbps of data throughput and latency below 0.5 milliseconds using the 4.5GHz frequency band.

In the UK the Ordnance Survey announced it had been selected by the Department for Culture, Media and Sport (DCMS) to develop a planning and mapping tool to support the national rollout of 5G. The tool will be used to determine optimum locations for the access points necessary to enable a 5G network and will be trialled in Bournemouth. Network World published a timeline of notable 5G trials.

Other spectrum, mobile and wireless news this month:

• Virgin Media and Sky both launched 4G mobile services.
• Facebook announced the achievement of a data rate of nearly 20 Gbps over 13 km using millimetre-wave (MMW) spectrum and the launch of Express WiFi in India, which “empowers local entrepreneurs to help provide quality internet access to their neighbours and make a steady income.”
• The International Airlines Group (IAG, the parent company of Aer Lingus, British Airways, Iberia and Vueling) announced that it will introduce inflight WiFi across its airlines' shorthaul fleets, having reached agreement with Inmarsat to be the launch customer of its next generation European air to ground connectivity.
• Network World reported how skilled hackers could potentially attack thousands or tens of thousands of users by compromising large public WiFi networks like those run by cities, based on findings from an example in Tel Aviv presented at this year’s DefCamp security conference.
• Researchers from MIT’s Computer Science and Artificial Intelligence Laboratory (CSAIL) announced a prototype system called MoVR that allows gamers to use any virtual reality (VR) headset wirelessly. Today’s headsets have to be tethered to computers in order to process data well enough to deliver high-resolution visuals; MoVR can enable untethered communication at a rate of multiple Gbps using millimetre wave (MMW) technology.