The World Radiocommunication Conference 2015 (WRC-15) in Geneva had a good outcome for the mobile industry, according to the GSMA, which welcomed the addition of new spectrum to mobile broadband.
The European Commission (EC) has announced a public consultation on the future use of the ultra-high frequency (UHF) 700MHz spectrum band. It is currently mostly used by the broadcasting sector in much of Europe, but it is increasingly sought after by telecoms providers for wireless broadband.
Australian carrier Telstra has accelerated the launch of LTE services on its 700MHz network and now expects to take LTE coverage to 90 per cent of the Australian population by the end of January 2015 after switching on LTE700 in all major cities.
The European Commission this week recommended that the EU safeguard access to spectrum below 700MHz for digital terrestrial television until 2030. But the European Broadcasting Union (EBU) has expressed concern about the early release of the 700MHz frequencies.
The 700MHz radio frequency is finding favour among New Zealand mobile operators with Vodafone this week switching on its commercial 700MHz LTE network, marking the activation of one of the first Asia Pacific Telecommunity (APT) 700 MHz networks in the world.
Australia’s next generation broadband network, NBN Co, on Tuesday said it would use satellite to boost the number of connections for Australians who cannot access existing commercial broadband services. The NBN Co Satellite Support (NSS) Scheme will connect to up to 9,000 additional premises in remote and regional mainland Australia and Tasmania, until the expected launch of NBN Co’s Long Term Satellite Service (LTSS) in late 2015.
Incumbent carrier Telecom New Zealand, in the midst of changing its name to Spark, said Tuesday it intends to launch 4G LTE services in late August using the recently acquired licence for the 700MHz spectrum band. The move will supplement existing 4G services on offer in limited regions using the 1800MHz band.
The top brass of Brazilian communications regulation gathered at the Institute of Directors in central London today for the latest leg in the 700MHz 4G auction roadshow, with the apparent aim of opening up the process to new bidders outside of the four national incumbents.
Telecom Italia’s Brazilian operation, TIM Brasil, is considering offloading its cell tower infrastructure in a bid to unlock more value from the assets and make the company more efficient.
Big spending Canadian operator Rogers Communications has dropped C$3.29bn (US$2.98bn) on two 12MHz blocks of paired lower 700MHz band spectrum licences in the nation’s latest spectrum auction. Rival Telus also splashed its cash, shelling out C$1.14bn on spectrum licences equating to a national average of 16.6MHz in the band. The Canadian government raised a sizeable total of C$5.27bn during the auction and the licences issued will remain valid for 20 years.
Australian carrier Telstra and trade bodies the GSMA and GSA on Monday launched a major promotion of the APT700 spectrum band for 4G networks. The Asia Pacific implementation of the ‘digital dividend’ frequency reclaimed from the move to digital TV has already been identified for use in markets covering more than two billion people and the industry bodies are pushing for global adoption in order to facilitate LTE roaming.
As emerging markets deploy and expand their LTE networks, national regulators are gravitating towards the 700MHz band to provide spectrum harmonisation internationally.
Convergence Technologies, a US network provider, has announced that it has signed up to the Verizon Wireless LTE in Rural America Program. As part of the deal, CTI will provide LTE to rural communities in Indiana that are within the IN-5 Cellular Market Area.
