CTIA and T-Mobile are getting support from across the pond in their quest to persuade the FCC to designate certain 3 GHz frequencies for 5G use. The GSM Association (GSMA, or Groupe Speciale Mobile), which represents mobile operators worldwide, “encourages the Commission to take the next steps toward global harmonization by adopting the proposed changes to the rules governing the 3550-3700 MHz band Citizens Broadband Radio Service suggested in the Petitions for Rulemaking filed by T-Mobile and CTIA and pursuing the further actions contemplated in the recently initiated Notice of Inquiry examining flexible use of spectrum between 3.7 and 24 GHz.”
International organizations and countries worldwide have begun to make spectrum in the 3 GHz band available for 5G operations, GSMA tells the agency. The Australian Communications and Media Authority has begun the planning process, “with a goal of forming a final view on the best use of the 3.6 GHz band later this year,” according to GSMA in comments filed with the FCC.
Across Asia – in China, Japan, Singapore, and Hong Kong – policymakers have begun work to make 3 GHz band spectrum available for 5G. So has Europe, according to GSMA. The U.K. will soon auction 150 megahertz of spectrum in the 3.4 GHz band for 5G mobile use and proposed making the 3.6-3.8 GHz band available for mobile services including 5G; Ireland recently auctioned spectrum in the 3.4-3.8 GHz band for 5G deployment; Italy will begin auctioning and awarding spectrum in the 3.6-3.8 GHz band for 5G uses by 2018. Germany plans to make the 3.5 GHz band available for 5G in 2018 and is working on including the 3.6 GHz band “in the near future,” according to the association.
Published August 14, 2017
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