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The path to 5G for EMERGING ECONOMIES Making Smart Decisions to Enable a Network of Networks

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The Path to 5G for Emerging Economies: Making Smart Decisions to Enable a Network of Networks

As policymakers and regulators across the developed world race to auction spectrum in the hope of facilitating 5G, emerging economies are working to identify practical steps they can take to ensure that they too can bring the benefits of future 5G technologies to their citizens.

Every country, no matter it’s stage of development, is experiencing a digital transformation. Questions about ‘the right thing to do’ to improve a country’s socio-economic development can give policymakers and regulators the impression that they have to choose between technologies, pick winners and reform regulations accordingly.

The reality of so many developed or developing countries, is that there is no global, regional or even national ‘one-size-fits-all’ solution. Without a single right answer, there is also no need to choose a preferred technology. It is not difficult to make the right decisions that allow multiple priorities and needs to be addressed in parallel so that a country’s overall connectivity and consequentially economic health improves.

This paper discusses relevant considerations for policymakers as they seek to harness the benefits of that transformation as well as the role that different technologies can play in improving connectivity around the world.

5G Essentials �Thousands of MHz of spectrum are already identified for terrestrial mobile services, and more

will be identified by WRC 2019.

Proponents of terrestrial 5G tell policymakers that 5G will only happen if large amounts (100s of MHz) of contiguous spectrum in different frequency bands is made available for mobile terrestrial/IMT. Such claims are powerful because policymakers know the transformational value that connectivity, often enabled by a simple mobile device, can bring.

Before accepting the claim that 5G requires access to large amounts of contiguous spectrum however, policymakers should consider that across emerging economies, over 1200 MHz of spectrum has already been identified by the ITU for mobile terrestrial/IMT for 3G, 4G and 5G technologies. Research1 shows that a significant portion of this spectrum has still not been assigned to, or used by, mobile operators. Equally, the use of technology such as carrier aggregation means that spectrum for 5G does not need to be in contiguous blocks.

�Satellites are key to 5G alongside fibre, mobile, WiFi and other networks

5G is characterized by the terrestrial 5G community as having very high data rates, super-fast connectivity, very low latency, high reliability and low power but it remains to be seen whether subscribers are actually willing to pay for more data or faster speeds.

However recognizing the continuing growth in demand for more data, the satellite industry is making the private investments necessary in new generations of High Throughput Satellites and lower orbit satellite systems to support, complement and extend terrestrial networks and most importantly, enable a 5G “Network of Networks”. Satellites can support many 5G applications, including video delivery, communications on the move and the Internet-of-Things even with low-latency requirements. Leveraging their broadcast strength, satellites can also efficiently deliver common content for storage on caches very close to the edge across wide areas so reducing network transit times.

1 https://www.lstelcom.com/fileadmin/content/marketing/news/2014_Study_LicensingUseofMobileSpectrum.pdf

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ESOA Satellite Action Plan for 5G Standards

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ESOA Satellite Action Plan for 5G Standards

The Path to 5G for Emerging Economies: Making Smart Decisions to Enable a Network of Networks

�Only a network of networks will ensure 5G coverage to unserved areas

We often hear “everyone has 4G” as if it is a global phenomenon. While it is available in urban areas in many countries, it is certainly not ubiquitous across emerging economies especially given that investments into 4G are still being monetized and the technology is still being rolled out. 3G is reasonably well rolled-out across all continents, however we are all conscious of a persistent digital divide that fragments societies in urban and rural areas creating inequalities and impeding vital socio-economic development.

Most of the frequency bands being considered for super high-speed 5G connections are above 2.5 GHz and range up to 80 GHz. At these higher frequencies, signals cannot travel as far (in some cases only a few hundred metres), meaning that more cell towers are required to achieve greater coverage. More cell towers means higher cost of deployment and this again will limit terrestrial 5G primarily to urban areas. If policymakers erroneously consider 5G as a stand-alone terrestrial system, this will only serve to widen the rural/urban digital divide.

By contrast, satellites today enable 2G/3G/4G terrestrial mobile networks to reach unserved areas in many parts of the world. Latest and next generation high throughput satellites (HTS) will also support the increased bandwidth requirements of future 5G mobile networks and similarly extend their reach to areas that would otherwise be unserved.

More connectivity is very important, but different landscapes across all countries mean that a range of technologies have to play a role in enabling connectivity. That is why the European Union, a thought-leader in 5G, has referred from the start to 5G as a “Network of Networks”. Is more spectrum for one technology: mobile terrestrial, therefore the right answer? It cannot be, especially if it comes at the expense of another technology’s ability to perform its mission in the same country.

The next page provides a balanced guide for Emerging Economies on how to approach 5G and related spectrum decisions. This tool enables governments and regulators to take decisions based on their specific domestic situation in order to maximize national connectivity and prepare the ground for 5G.

TRAPSOnly a handful of 5G use cases are actually latency-critical and satellite can actually help reduce transit times in some cases e.g. by caching common content locally

Plenty of terrestrial mobile spectrum remains available for use / assignment without the need to encroach on satellite spectrum use

Coverage will always remain an issue for a standalone mobile network: satellites can extend terrestrial networks to improve coverage

5G’s Gigabit speeds and low latency are imperative for the future

5G will only happen if mobile terrestrial/IMT has access to large amounts of contiguous spectrum

5G will bring superfast broadband to everyone

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Making the Right Decisions for 5G Spectrum Awards

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ESOA Satellite Action Plan for 5G Standards

The Path to 5G for Emerging Economies: Making Smart Decisions to Enable a Network of Networks

YES

KEY

NO

Start here

Does my country have nationwide mobile

broadband coverage?

Are all technology options (e.g. mobile, satellite, fibre) being optimally employed?

Do operators have the flexibility to operate

any technology in their spectrum?

Are all the relevant ITU IMT bands allocated for

mobile usage?

Have you completed digital television

switch-over?

Are the ‘digital dividend’ bands (i.e. 700 and 800 MHz) fully assigned to

mobile operators?

Focus on immediate licensing of

coverage bands (i.e. 700, 800 MHz)

Are the mobile broadband speeds in my country above the

global average?

Are operators making use of all of the

spectrum available to them?

Work with the operators to encourage them to use the spectrum they have already been awarded

Congratulations!You may now wish

to consider licensing more

spectrum for 5G

Is C-band widely used (e.g. for VSAT or satellite

television reception)?

Focus on licensing bands with best chances for global harmonization: 700 MHz, 2.6 GHz, and 26 GHz bands for 5G

Implement WRC 2019 consensus-based

decisions while protecting existing satellite services

relied on in country

Consider all technology options, ensure each is

being used to best effect, verify no regulatory

barriers prevent use

Modify operators licences to be technology

neutral (at minimal additional cost)

Update national frequency allocation

table to be in-line with ITU radio regulations

Expedite switch-over to digital television to release dividend frequency bands

Are the ‘capacity’ bands (i.e. 1800, 2100 and

2300 MHz) fully assigned to mobile operators?

Focus on immediate licensing of capacity

bands (i.e. 1800, 2100, 2300 MHz)