Mobile operator Vodafone UK has warned that today’s move by Ofcom (here), which has created the “opportunity” for 10 new Freeview HD TV channels to be launched by using airwaves in the 600MHz radio spectrum band, could hinder the plan to free up existing 700MHz spectrum for use by future ultra-fast 5G based Mobile Broadband services.
Chinese telecoms giant Huawei has said that the next generation of 5G based Mobile Broadband technology, which it says should “emerge in the market between 2020 and 2030“, will ultimately allow “every person” to access wireless internet download speeds of 10Gbps (Gigabits per second) via their mobile operator.
The national telecoms regulator, Ofcom, has today issued a new “scoping document” (call for inputs) that will help to determine how existing radio spectrum in the UHF 700MHz (Digital TV) frequency band could be freed up for use by the next (5th) generation of future ultra-fast 5G based Mobile Broadband services.
The European Commission (EC) has today committed £43 million (€50m) to help research future 5G (5th Generation) based Mobile Broadband technologies for launch by 2020, which could one day deliver peak service speeds of up to 10Gbps or possibly even 100Gbps (Gigabits per second).
Ofcom has today begun to set out plans that will eventually enable the release of new airwaves (UHF radio spectrum), such as the controversial 700MHz and 600MHz band used by Digital TV services, which could be used by a future generation of 5G Mobile Broadband or WiFi style internet solutions. But it will be 2018 before anything happens.
The UK government’s Department for Business, Innovation and Skills (BIS) has announced a new £35 million partnership between mobile phone operators, telecoms equipment makers and the University of Surrey that aims to develop the 5th Generation (5G) of Mobile Broadband technologies.