Making way for novel broadband radio services International Telecommunication Union Telecommunications Development Bureau ITU Regional Workshop on Efficiency.

Making wayfor novel broadband radio services

International Telecommunication UnionTelecommunications Development Bureau

ITU Regional Workshop on Efficiency of theFrequency Spectrum Use in the Arab Region

Amman-Jordan, 5-7 Dec. 2011

Dr. Arturas MedeisisITU-BDT Spectrum Management Expert

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Scope of presentation • Why we need broadband?• Modifying existing mobile assignments• Assigning new spectrum• Other than mobile options?• Looking into the future?

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Importance of broadband• Enabling modern inclusive ICT services• Wireless BB provides faster deployment,

especially to “green-field” underserved areas with poor infrastructure

Wireless broadband services platform

Radio Spectrum

IT services platform

Services competition

Convergent ICT

Innovativeness

Inclusion

Economic growth

Consumer benefits

Societal benefits

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Global data traffic forecasts

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Two directions• Creating opportunities for existing

spectrum assignments to be “upgraded” to provide novel Broadband services:– i.e. Technological level re-farming

• Seeking new spectrum assignment opportunities:– Exclusive licences– Overlay licences (shared access)

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Technological re-farming• Mostly concerns the possibility of

upgrading old 2G spectrum to provide 3G/4G services

• Especially the 900 MHz band, as it provides best coverage optimisation

Source: CEPT ECC Report 82

The concept of “sandwiching” broadband channel between narrow-band 2G channels

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Upgrading 2G licences• 2G operators should be given cart blanche to

freely decide on technological evolution within their assigned spectrum

• Even typical 2 x 8...12 MHz spectrum blocks could be well used to accommodate broadband CDMA/OFDMA channels

• Modern Software Defined Radio (SDR) Base Stations allow seamless re-organisation of network access from 2G (GSM) to 4G (LTE) in any channel combination

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New bands for broadband

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Importance of lower bands• Compare mobile OFDM coverage options

for different bands (open area Hata model)

0 2 4 6 8 10

700 MHz

1.8 GHz

2.5 GHz

3.5 GHz

km

64-QAM 3/4

16-QAM 3/4

QPSK 1/2

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The terms of licensing?• In the past new assignments were made

to specific technology, e.g. GSM• Nowadays, NRAs are ill placed to decide

on which broadband technology would become the winning proposition:– witness WiMAX vs LTE battle for dominance

• Therefore it is important that from the start the new assignments are technology-neutral and flexible in terms of service offering (mobile vs. FWA vs. BS/IPTV etc.)

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Playing the neutrality card safe• Important to engineer sufficient safeguards

into the spectrum assignments to ensure smooth functioning of neutrality

• Primary technological solutions:– FDD/TDD-friendly solutions– Universal channel rasters – Block Edge Mask concept– Border coordination thresholds

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FDD/TDD flexibility

Operator A Operator B Operator A Operator B

FDD duplex spacing

a) Initial assignment

b) Possible outright deployment of different technologies

Operator AFDD uplink

Operator BTDD block 1

Operator AFDD downlink

Operator BTDD block 2

c) If both operators agree to use TDD technology, they must be allowed to swap their respective FDD blocks

Operator ACombined contiguous TDD block

Operator BCombined contiguous TDD block

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The BEM concept (I)TX Output Power Density

(dBW/MHz)

F, from the block edge

-36

-89

Internalguard band

(~1/2 system channel)

1st  system channel(typical size)

-77

B0 A

PMAX

Assignedblock

Adjacent block

2nd  system channel(typical size)

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The BEM concept (II)

ΔF

PTx

c

b

a

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BEM implications• BEM favours homogenous deployment of

uniform transmitters with gradual densification

Source: CEPT Report 19

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ITU-R work on mobile BB• Preparation of a new ITU-R Report

“Analysis and assessment of global broadband wireless services and marketplace for IMT”

• Series of workshops “IMT for the Next Decade”

Turning to alternative options...

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BWA concept is still alive

• Wireline quality dedicated radio links

• Single connection for multimedia use

• Network roll-out faster than DSL/fibre

• Deployment in FS bands from 10 GHz and above

CSN

CS1

CSi

Internet/ Packet Data

PSTN

TV/ video contribution

BWA

Switch/

Central Station(CS)

Control

CPE

PC TV

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Or even high density FS

• E.g. 59 GHz, 64-66 GHz

• Suitable for short hop bridging links in dense (urban) scenarios

• High and flexible channel bandwidth:– from 100 MHz up to 2 GHz

• 59 GHz applications could be licence-exempt, 64 GHz well suited for light-licensing

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Thinking further into the future• TV White Spaces (TVWS) – a medium-

term flexible solution for on-demand (ad hoc) broadband connectivity

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How much White Spaces?• USA:

• Some European countries:

(UC Berkeley, 2010)

(FP7’s FARAMIR, 2011)

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A closer national study• Poland:

– Based on ITU GE-06 plan– 30 m 36 dBm Base Stations– Protection of interference-

limited coverage of TV

(NIT Wroclaw, 2011)

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A vision for TVWS SM solution

UK, Ofcom

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Problems, issues to address• Protection of existing services:

– Broadcasting Service– Wireless microphones (Programme Making Special Events)– Other (Radio Astronomy, Radionavigation, etc.)

• Development of TV WSD technology:– stable technical characteristics, standardisation– link with geo-location database, security, integrity– business case?

• Regulatory considerations:– regulatory mechanism for the Dynamic Spectrum Access– equipment type approval– enforcement issues (“FCC chip” idea, etc.)

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Conclusions• Fuelled by the constant proliferation of

personal “smart” phones, tablets, etc., the growth in demand of wireless broadband services will remain an important factor well into the future

• NRAs should consider all available options and strive to satisfy the demand by the industry in the most forward-looking and flexible manner

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Thank you!

Dr. Arturas [email protected]

ITU: Committed to connecting the World