Spectrum awards and renewal of spectrum need to be reasonably priced to allow for meaningful network deployments addressing the digitalization policy objectives.
For 5G to be able to support the full range of use cases, awarded national licenses should include spectrum in low-, mid- and high-bands as these frequency ranges have different characteristics.
For initial deployments, a minimum of 100 MHz of contiguous mid-band spectrum within the 3300 – 4200 MHz and 4400-5000 MHz bands (and in some countries 2600 MHz), and around 1 GHz of contiguous high-band (mmWave) spectrum within the 26 GHz, 28 GHz per licensee are needed. Later, additional spectrum in these ranges will be needed. Read more under Future spectrum.
Spectrum in the low-bands 450 MHz, 600 MHz and 700 MHz bands is needed to connect the unconnected and to increase geographical network coverage and to ensure a successful introduction of IoT solutions. A minimum of 2x10MHz in these ranges is needed.
Interesting reading:
- Europe defined and harmonized the bands 700 MHz, 3.5 GHz and 26 GHz as “5G pioneer bands”. In relation to mmWave, the RSPG (Radio Spectrum Policy Group) recommended that Member States should make a “sufficiently large portion (e.g. 1GHz)” of the band available in response to market demand by 2020, however, delays have occurred. Analysis Mason has studied the status, cost and benefits of 5G mmWave in Europe and the importance of releasing this spectrum for Europe’s economy. Find out more here: Status, costs and benefits of 5G 26GHz deployments in Europe (ericsson.com)
- The maturity of the 5G global ecosystem in the C-band (3300-4200 MHz) keeps increasing as the world opens up this band for 5G. Find out more here: 3300-4200 MHz a key frequency band for 5G