Future WRC Must Focus on 5 GHz Spectrum, Intel Executive Says
Industry must make certain that delegates to the World Radiocommunications Conference in November approve an agenda item for the following WRC, which is scheduled for 2019 and focuses on 5G spectrum, said Reza Arefi, Intel director-spectrum strategy. “Harmonization doesn’t happen overnight,” said Arefi, co-author of a recent 4G Americas white paper on “5G Spectrum Recommendations.” He spoke Wednesday on a 4G Americas webinar.
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The WRC should look at a variety of bands that could be used for 5G to address both “coverage and capacity” needs of the industry, Arefi said. FCC continuing work on high-frequency spectrum bands also is important, he said, saying Chairman Tom Wheeler promised in a recent blog post to release this year an NPRM on high-band spectrum (see 1508030071). The NPRM will provide a “venue” for developing consensus on what the service rules will look like in that spectrum, Arefi said.
Arefi sees a growing consensus that both licensed and unlicensed spectrum are critical for 5G. “For applications that require dedicated spectrum, with predictable quality of service, licensed operation is key,” he said. Unlicensed spectrum is likely to be useful as a complement to 5G as it has been in 3G and 4G, he said. “There is a long cycle for spectrum to become available and operational,” Arefi said. “There will be a need for spectrum bands below 6 GHz to be developed in order to migrate to 5G, in order to enhance LTE.”
It takes a long time to get spectrum to the market, said Chris Pearson, president of 4G Americas. “The timing is right for associations like 4G Americas, working with government agencies, working with other associations, to start a planning process about what is needed for the marketplace when you look at 5G spectrum possibilities.”
Pearson said he isn't certain if Congress will approve legislation opening more bands to 5G and wireless broadband. “However, I do see the U.S. government and the FCC definitely looking at what would be considered high-band spectrum for 5G,” he said. International harmonization of spectrum bands is “extremely important,” he said. Pearson said the Inter-American Telecommunication Commission (CITEL) has recommended to the WRC the study of 10 bands for mobile broadband, five of which were recommended by the U.S. “We see a lot of involvement of the governments trying to get some harmonization amongst the bands and that’s a good thing,” he said.