ITU Decision Makes 700MHz Band a Global Mobile Broadband Standard

The International Telecommunication Union and attendants of this year’s World Radiocommunication Conference have agreed to turn the 700MHz radio spectrum band (694-790MHz) into a global standard for Mobile Broadband, which supports Ofcom’s position in the United Kingdom.

At present the 700MHz band is still being used by a number of countries, including the UK and a big chunk of Europe, to deliver Digital Terrestrial TV (DTTV) and a few other services. However in other parts of the world (e.g. the Americas and Asia-Pacific) it’s already available for use with Mobile Broadband (3G, 4G) operators.

The advantage of 700MHz is that its lower frequency gives a big benefit to network coverage and at a lower cost, although it’s unlikely to deliver the same sort of data speed performance as higher bands that have more spectrum to go around. On the other hand 4G Carrier Aggregation (combines multiple bands for faster data speeds) between 800MHz and 700MHz could give a big boost to rural areas.

Ofcom and other European regulators already have long-term plans to clear Digital TV services from the 700MHz band by around 2022 (these will be moved onto 600MHz), which would free 700MHz up for use as a Mobile Broadband service.

What today’s decision means is that the band will now become a truly global standard, with Europe, Africa, the Middle East and Central Asia (ITU Region-1) all signing up to the harmonisation agreement.

Houlin Zhao, ITU Secretary-General, said:

“The WRC-15 decision represents a landmark in the development of broadband mobile on a worldwide scale, regardless of location, network or terminal used. It goes a long way in enabling bridging of the digital divide, while fully protecting the other services currently operated in the band.

The global harmonization of the 694-790 MHz frequency band that has been decided by WRC-15 paves the way for manufacturers and mobile operators to offer mobile broadband at an affordable price in currently under-served areas.”

It’s worth pointing out that the WRC is also debating a number of other issues and you can see the positions that our own national regulator will be taking by reading our recent summary (here).