Ofcom Sets Out Global Position on Wireless Broadband Spectrum

The United Kingdom’s telecoms regulator has today set out what position they will be taking at next month’s World Radiocommunication Conference 2015 (WRC-15), which among other things will seek to decide the radio spectrum frequencies for future WiFi and 5G based Mobile Broadband services.

The event, which is being held between 2nd and 27 November 2015 in Geneva (Switzerland), will bring together regulators from around the world and aims to produce a more harmonised global approach to the allocation of radio spectrum bands. Incidentally the related Radiocommunication Assembly 2015 (RA-15) is also being held this week.

Historically different parts of the world have tended to apply spectrum in their own way and that can result in cross-border compatibility problems, such as if you buy a mobile handset abroad and later find that it doesn’t support the most common UK bands. But this time around things might be different, at least a little bit.

Unsurprisingly Ofcom’s position at the debate is very similar to Europe’s, which is to say that they will support the use of spectrum in the 700MHz (formerly TV), 1.4 – 1.5GHz, 2.3GHz, 3.4GHz and 6GHz+ bands for use by current and future Wireless / Mobile Broadband services (related articles here, here, here and here).

However Ofcom are opposed to using the 470-694MHz band for mobile services in Europe as it is still used for the provision of Digital Terrestrial TV (DTTV) services in the UK and several other countries. A full break-down of Ofcom’s various positions can be read online, but below you can find a summary of the main broadband related points.

Agenda Item 1.1 “Spectrum for wireless and mobile broadband”

• “to consider additional spectrum allocations to the mobile service on a primary basis and identification of additional frequency bands for International Mobile Telecommunications (IMT) and related regulatory provisions, to facilitate the development of terrestrial mobile broadband applications”

The UK has signed all but one of the European Common Proposals (ECPs) under this agenda item which aims to consider additional spectrum for mobile broadband. In particular, the UK supports the ECPs proposing consideration of the bands 1427-1518 MHz and 3.4-3.8 GHz for mobile broadband. The UK also supports the European proposals for No Change in a number of bands, including 470-694 MHz which is used for digital terrestrial television in the UK.

The UK has not signed the No Change ECP for the frequency band 2 700 –2 900 MHz as we continue to believe that this band could have potential for mobile broadband in the future. However the UK recognises that there is fragmented and limited global support for an allocation in this band, and that other regional positions on the band are largely supportive of a No Change position. We will monitor discussions at the conference.

Agenda Item 1.2 “Use of the 700MHz band for mobile broadband”

• “to examine the use of the frequency band 694-790 MHz by the mobile (except aeronautical mobile) service in Region 1”

The UK supports making the 694-790 MHz band available for mobile services and a Decision at WRC-15 will facilitate future work at national and European level to make the band available for mobile broadband. Indeed Ofcom has already taken a decision to make the band available for mobile broadband in the UK and is currently in the process of clearing the band. The UK therefore supports the ECPs that have been developed under this agenda item.

Agenda Item 10 “Future Agenda Items for consideration at the next WRC”

The UK, along with a number of other CEPT administrations, has also submitted a multicounty proposal for additional allocations at 5 150 – 5 350, 5 350-5 470, 5 725-5 850 and 5 850-5 925 MHz for potential extension for Wi-Fi. We feel that this is an important issue that that needs to be considered through the WRC process in order to ensure that sufficient spectrum is made available for WiFi, noting expected future demands from consumers for greater connectivity and faster speeds.