Spectrum bands needed to drive 5G in Latin America

The main topics discussed during the event were how spectrum liberalization has energized the market in some countries in the region, and the importance of having achieved coordination and harmonization between our countries to make the best use of the spectrum.

The future was also discussed, as well as the value of identifying new bands at the right times for disruptive mobile technologies such as 5G, which will allow for 1000 times more data volume, more secure transactions, much lower latency, greater energy efficiency, and battery life 10 times higher than today, to finally solidify the vision of the Networked Society.

The Ericsson Mobility Report predicts that between 2015 and 2021, Latin America will go from consuming 1.2 GB per month on each smartphone to 7 GB, and that total mobile device traffic growth worldwide will be 45%. The report also forecasts that by 2018, connected things—such as cars, machines, utility service meters, remote meters and electronic devices—will exceed the number of connected phones.

In the face of this scenario, it is crucial to harmonize the spectrum, which has always been complex at both the global level and in Latin America, but quite necessary, given that the radio spectrum is a limited resource. Through coordination between the ITU and industry, economies of scale are achieved and all of society is able to access mobile services.

At the last World Radiocommunication Conference, ITU-R (WRC 2015), a new set of frequencies was identified for mobile services (IMT) that enable Latin American countries to provide their markets with more spectrum and thereby meet the growing mobile traffic demand. The new bands include Band C (3.4-3.7 GHz) and Band L (1427-1518 MHz), which have been identified for the entire region; in some markets, the 614-698 MHz and/or 470-608 MHz bands are also included.

In particular, the 614-698 MHz band, known as the Second Digital Dividend, is of great importance to various governments in the Americas, including the United States, Mexico, Canada, Colombia, Bahamas, Barbados and Belize. This is because of its liberalization time in the region. At the same conference, it was established that potential bands for introducing 5G services are 3.5 GHz and 614-698 MHz, depending on availability in each country.

Moreover, the ITU has proposed a work schedule that ends 2019 with its next conference (WRC 2019), when the tentative spectrum bands in the range from 24.25 to 86 GHz will be analyzed. These are the bands under study for rolling out future 5G services.

On the other hand, some advanced nations, such as the USA, Japan and South Korea, are also considering launching 5G services in a pre-standard version even before the WRC 2019 meeting, considering spectrum on the 25- and 28-GHz bands. The time is ripe for Latin American and Caribbean governments to consider these spectrum bands in their plans for initial deployment of future 5G services, because they will resolve a new demand for advanced mobile broadband services and the Internet of Things (IoT), which will transform some sectors of the economy and even the way we live.

In the next few years, 4G/LTE will continue its solid path of innovation in its deployments. However, it is crucial to provide the mobile industry with enough spectrum over the next five years to enable the expansion and evolution of LTE services, such as LTE-Advanced and future 5G services, which will coexist for a long time. Regional governments should also facilitate frequencies for 5G pilot projects, which Ericsson is expected to begin in 2017. One key aspect to consider is that the industry will require a great deal of spectrum to meet the growing demand for 4G and 5G mobile services, but spectrum prices need to be reasonable according to the macroeconomic realities of operators, given that ARPUs are significantly decreasing in several of the regional markets.

Ericsson is actively collaborating with different governments in the region and international telecommunications entities to make 5G technology the standard for mobile communications. The company will also continue to support Latin American and Caribbean governments by sharing perspectives on the evolution of 5G and the need to license more wireless spectrum, considering that a suitable regulatory framework encourages investment and is the platform for mobile network evolution and its countless socioeconomic benefits for all of society.