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In a new ‘industry position’ mobile trade association the GSMA warns that clever new 5G tech won’t be much good without the spectrum to carry it.

The executive summary is the standard stuff about a new generation of wireless tech opening up a bunch of new opportunities, but this is just the setup. We won’t be able to do any of this cool stuff, you see, unless governments and regulators do a better job of giving operators the swathes of spectrum they will need to deliver on the promise of 5G.

“Operators urgently need more spectrum to deliver the endless array of services that 5G will enable – our 5G future depends heavily on the decisions governments are making in the next year as we head into WRC-19,” said Brett Tarnutzer, Head of Spectrum at the GSMA.

“Without strong government support to allocate sufficient spectrum to next generation mobile services, it will be impossible to achieve the global scale that will make 5G affordable and accessible for everyone. There is a real opportunity for innovation from 5G, but this hinges on governments focusing on making enough spectrum available, not maximising auction revenues for short term gains.”

WRC-19 refers to the World Radiocommunications Conference 2019. It will be the first one for four years and it’s the event at which the world has a think about things like allocating radio spectrum according to current needs. So it’s a rare opportunity for organisations such as the GSMA to try and get their members some more of that precious resource.

“Governments and regulators have a major role to play in ensuring that consumers get the best outcome from 5G,” said Tarnutzer. “Once spectrum is allocated to mobile at WRC, licensing that spectrum at a national level, as history has shown, can take up to 10 years. Therefore, it is essential that governments take the right action now.”

The fact that the GSMA still feel the need to spell out the importance of radio spectrum to governments and regulators is faintly depressing, considering what a redundant point that should be. But this sort of thing is where such organisations earn their keep, by packaging the bleedin obvious into things like industry positions, which presumably increases the chances of bureaucratic types taking it seriously.

Here’s the GSMA’s list of demands:

1. 5G needs wider frequency bands to support higher speeds and larger amounts of traffic. Regulators that make available 80-100 MHz of spectrum per operator in prime 5G mid-bands (e.g. 3.5 GHz) and around 1 GHz per operator in vital millimeter wave bands (i.e. above 24 GHz), will best support the very fastest 5G services.
2. 5G needs spectrum within three key frequency ranges to deliver widespread coverage and support all use cases:

• Sub-1GHz spectrum to extend high-speed 5G mobile broadband coverage across urban, suburban and rural areas and to help support Internet of Things (IoT) services
• Spectrum from 1-6 GHz to offer a good mix of coverage and capacity for 5G services
• Spectrum above 6 GHz for 5G services such as ultra-high-speed mobile broadband

1. It is essential that governments support the 26 GHz, 40 GHz (37-43.5 GHz) and 66-71 GHz bands for mobile at WRC-19. A sufficient amount of harmonised 5G spectrum in these bands is critical to enabling the fastest 5G speeds, low-cost devices and international roaming and to minimising cross-border interference.
2. Governments and regulators should avoid inflating 5G spectrum prices (e.g. setting high auction reserve prices) as they risk limiting network investment and driving up the cost of services.
3. Regulators should avoid setting aside spectrum for verticals in key mobile spectrum bands; sharing approaches, such as leasing, are better options where vertical industries require access to spectrum.