While a minimum of 100 MHz of contiguous mid-band spectrum may be enough to cope with the spectrum needs by 2021, additional spectrum is needed in the 2025-2030 timeframe.
Coleago consulting estimates that The total mid-band spectrum needs (between 1500-7125 MHz), when averaged over 35 cities worldwide, is estimated to be 2,020 MHz in the 2025-2030 time frame to deliver the 5G vision of user experienced mobile data rates of 100 Mbit/s in the downlink and 50 Mbit/s in the uplink across the city, i.e. citywide “speed coverage”, for a range of human and non-human communications and to deliver smart cities in an economically feasible manner.
This additional spectrum will also bring key benefits outside the cities, in particular to bridge the digital divide between urban and rural areas as it can increase capacity in small towns and villages for home broadband. This becomes of particular importance in low income countries, where affordability is critical and FWA is the fastest way to get citizens “online”. Connectivity needs in major transport paths will also profit from this additional spectrum. Find out more here
The requirements for additional mid-band spectrum will differ among countries, considering national spectrum usage as well as amount of currently allocated spectrum for 5G, i.e. the less licensed spectrum today will turn into a larger demand for additional mid-band spectrum. Spectrum in the mid-bands include 2.3 GHz, 2.6 GHZ, 3.3-4.2 GHz, 4.4-5 GHz and 5925-7125 MHz.
Contiguous spectrum blocks will remain critical in the future, i.e. minimum contiguous blocks of 100 MHz. Nationwide licensing will remain critical to ensure efficient usage of spectrum, e.g. MBB, transport, cameras can be addressed seamlessly within the city while outside the city the spectrum can be used by industries, FWA or along major roads as required.