UK Spectrum Policy Forum Cluster 1: public (cellular) mobile - 8th December 2014 Chris Cheeseman, Head of Spectrum Strategy, BT Group Plc UK Public Mobile Spectrum More information at: http://www.techuk.org/about/uk-spectrum-policy-forum All rights reserved

1. Chris Cheeseman
UK public mobile spectrum
– UK Spectrum Policy Forum – Cluster 1 meeting
8 December 2014
Issue 1
4.12.2014

2. © British Telecommunications plc
Outline
1. Overview of existing UK spectrum
2. Spectrum sharing options
3. Candidate bands for ITU WRC-15
4. 5G spectrum
Slide 2

3. © British Telecommunications plc
0 20 40 60 80 100 120 140 160
800 MHz
2.1 GHz
(unpaired)
1800 MHz
2.1 GHz
(paired)
900 MHz
2.6 GHz
(unpaired)
2.6 GHz
(paired)
UK licensed mobile spectrum overview
Good
for
coverage
Good
for
Capacity
LTE
GSM, LTE
LTE
3G
GSM + 3G
700 MHz Auction c. 2020-2022
3.5 GHz Auction 2015/16
180
Available bandwidth (MHz)
2.3 GHz Auction 2015/16
1470 MHz Trade? LTE SDL?
Slide 3

4. © British Telecommunications plc
UK mobile network operator assignments (<3GHz)
Notes : (1) 2.1GHz TDD not shown
(2) DECT/GSM guard band spectrum not shown
(3) BT has 25MHz of unpaired spectrum if restricted power channels included
Slide 4

5. © British Telecommunications plc
Mobile licences
• Indefinite duration and tradable
• Mostly technology and service neutral
• 900/1800 MHz licences are charged annually and Ofcom is in the
process of revising the fees to reflect full market value as required by
the WT Act 2006 (Directions to Ofcom) 2010 Order.
• Auction licences might have fees applied at the end of the initial term
• Licence-exempt spectrum can also be used for public mobile (e.g.
WiFi and in future, perhaps, LAA-LTE).
Slide 5

6. © British Telecommunications plc
Ofcom is preparing to auction 2.3GHz and 3.4GHz
spectrum in 2015/16
UK
Broadband
Ltd
UK
Broadband
Ltd
3410 3480 3500 3580 3600
If UK Broadband Ltd participate in auction they have to compete for where
their existing assignment will be located
23902350
40MHz
(5MHz blocks, 8 lots)
150MHz
(5MHz blocks, 30 lots)
MHz
Frequency range studied
in USA for shared 3.5GHz
small cells
• Ofcom is currently consulting on this award (closes 23 January 2015)
• Ofcom and industry have done extensive work to understand 2.3GHz
LTE / 2.4GHz WiFi interference risks and mitigations
• Ofcom propose to use an SMRA auction format, with multiple 5MHz
lots in each band.
WiFi
interference?
Slide 6

7. © British Telecommunications plc
Ofcom plans to award the 700MHz spectrum by the
end of 2022
• Existing TV platform would need to be re-planned to deliver similar programme
capacity in less spectrum
• ITU WRC-15 and CEPT/EC harmonisation work continues.
• In the long-term more of the band could be released for mobile:
• Ofcom has indicated that its current view is that a full switch-off of DTT
would only be possible beyond 2030.
• The “Lamy report” to the EC proposes a “2020-2025-2030” timetable
Slide 7

8. © British Telecommunications plc
Exclusive national spectrum is essential but shared
spectrum is a useful supplement
Licence-exempt bands (LE)
(e.g. 2.4GHz and 5GHz WiFi;
Bluetooth, DECT, SRDs)
Band sharing
Dynamic Spectrum Access
(DSA) ?
Sensing / geolocation database
(e.g. TV “White Spaces”)
Geographic sharing
Licence-exempt options
Licensed Shared Access
(LSA) ?
(e.g. Military bands)
Geographic sharing
“Concurrent” licences
(e.g. Low power GSM)
Frequency sharing
Licensed options
Exclusive national licences
Slide 8

9. © British Telecommunications plc
Latest Draft CEPT proposals
No change proposals:
1300 - 1350MHz; 1518 - 1525MHz; 1690 - 1710MHz; 2025 - 2110MHz; 2200 -
2290MHz; 2700 - 2900MHz; 2900 - 3100MHz; 3300 - 3400MHz; 4400 - 4500MHz;
4500 - 4800MHz; 4800 - 5000MHz; 5350 - 5470MHz.
Other bands under further consideration:
470 - 694 MHz; 1350 - 1400MHz; 1492 - 1518MHz; 3800 - 4200MHz; 5725 - 5850;
5925 - 6425MHz.
Slide 9
Candidate mobile bands for WRC-15
Band Notes
1427 - 1492 MHz Existing global mobile allocations to become identified for IMT
3400 - 3600 MHz
Upgrade the mobile allocation / IMT identification in ITU Region
1 to Primary status
3600 – 3800 MHz
Upgrade the mobile allocation in Region 1 to primary status to
match other regions and add global IMT identification

10. © British Telecommunications plc
• The ability to re-farm existing bands will be important
• Exclusive licences will remain important for quality, economies of
scale and roaming
• Shared spectrum will be a useful supplement
• Additional spectrum above 6 GHz will be important for new high-
speed short range element
• Depending on the outcome of WRC-15 and WRC-19 further spectrum
for coverage/capacity may be needed
• Large bandwidth carriers will need to be supported
Slide 10
Looking to the longer term (beyond 2020) there are
spectrum requirements for 5G mobile to consider