SK Telecom, Nokia Demonstrate 19.1 Gbps Mobile

A test by SK Telecom and Nokia Networks demonstrated 19.1 Gbps mobile network transmission speed using 256 quadrature amplitude modulation (QAM), 8x8 Multiple-Input Multiple-Output (MIMO) transmission and 400 MHz of bandwidth.

The companies did not say which specific frequencies were used as part of the test, or the propagation distance. But those speeds correspond to peak transmission rates that are part of the recommended IMT-2020 standard (fifth generation mobile).

1.4 GHz to 1.5 GHz Band Likely to be Allocated for Mobile Communications at WRC-15

There is growing support globally for allocating the 1.4 GHz to 1.5 GHz band to mobile communications, GSMA argues.

GSMA expects action on that item at the upcoming WRC-15 meeting in November. As often is the case, different industries potentially will be affected. At the moment, those frequencies are assigned for various satellite and military communications purposes.

“There is currently almost unanimous support for 1427-1518 MHz (the L-band) in the Americas and in Europe (excluding Russia and CIS countries), Africa and the Arab States, GSMA notes.

The situation in the Asia-Pacific region is more fragmented with support mainly coming from higher income countries in the region.

In a study conducted for the GSMA, Plum Consulting estimates an initial 40 MHz (downlink) will be in commercial use in Europe and Latin America in 2018 and in Africa and Asia Pacific in 2020.

An additional 40 MHz (downlink) could be in use in 2022 in Europe and South America and 2025 in Africa and the Asia-Pacific region.

For a country such as Indonesia, that will mean a total of 380 MHz of spectrum for mobile use. for India, there will by 2030 be at least 245 MHz of available mobile spectrum. Nigeria will have about 250 MHz of mobile spectrum by about 2030.

In developed countries, the allocated mobile spectrum more typically--even before the WRC-15 decisions, ranges from 510 MHz to 708 MHz worth of spectrum, with more coming.

Indonesia Mobile Operators to Test Project Loon for Backhaul

Starting next year, the top three mobile network operators in Indonesia--Indosat, Telkomsel, and XL Axiata--will test Project Loon-- balloons to deliver Long Term Evolution 4G signals across the country.

Sri Lanka might be going further, and reportedly is planning on relying on Project Loon to cover the island for Internet access, starting as early as March 2016. There would seem to be some significant issues to be settled, if that timetable is to be kept.

Unless something new has been developed, Project Loon would beam signals to stationary antennas, much as a fixed wireless network would do. There would be no way to deliver signals directly to a mobile phone using LTE, for example.

So though mobile operators would be logical partners, they are not the only logical partners. Fixed network telcos might arguably be better positioned to serve as on-the-ground sales, installation and support partners.

There also has been confusion about whether the service was to be supplied “for free, or for fee.” Both could be correct conclusions, though it seems likely any “free” services would be limited, both in terms of usage or speed. Think of a program similar to Wi-Fi at public institutions.

It is possible, perhaps likely, that some amount of basic service could be made available “for free.” But it seems highly unlikely that most of the service can be provided that way. Nor would most offers of that sort provide unlimited access or large buckets of usage.

But it seems most likely that most of the service will be supplied at some commercial rate.

Most likely, Google would function as a backhaul provider, on a wholesale basis, with retail ISPs providing the end user service, and Google being paid a percentage of revenue.

The paucity of follow-up details since the July 2016 announcement likely mean actual commercial agreements with mobile operators were not finalized at the time. .

It is believed Project Loon consumers will be able to buy service with downloads speeds of up to 10 Mbps.

The current plan for Project Loon states that 13 balloons will be used to cover Sri Lanka.

Preferably, the Project Loon balloons would use 700-MHz frequencies for the downlinks.. At this frequency, each balloon can cover a 5000 square kilometers. If they try using a higher frequency such as 2500 MHz (2.5 GHz), then the coverage area drops significantly.

That might require moving TV broadcasters to new frequencies, however. So that seems unlikely.

More reasonable is use of the 2.5 GHz spectrum.

The balloons will provide LTE Internet connectivity to an area on the ground around 40 km (25 miles) in diameter.

Sri Lanka said at the time of its announcement that it would be the first country to support deployment of Google Project Loon-based Internet access.

Will Unlicensed Spectrum Reduce Scarcity Value? When?

Logic and facts sometimes can contradict each other. Consider the fundamentals of spectrum value. One traditional underpinning of value, as it applies to communications spectrum, is that it has value because it is scarce.

That can be encapsulated easily: “You can use it or you can keep others from using it,” quips Armand Musey, Summit Ridge Group founder.

So if value comes from scarcity, then releasing more unlicensed spectrum should reduce scarcity value. But as Musey notes, the AWS-3 auctions suggested that “maybe is not happening.”

One might argue that it is “not happening yet,” but will, in the future. Historically, commercially-viable end user forms of wireless communication have been restricted to a rather limited set of frequencies.

Mobility, for example, has primarily relied on some bands between 800 MHz and 2.1 Mhz. As more frequencies are released, both licensed, shared and unlicensed, and as it becomes possible to use unlicensed spectrum in ways more analogous to communications based on use of licensed spectrum, scarcity value should decrease.

Of course, as Musey notes, we have not seen such effects so far. Still, “it is hard to see how how all the unlicensed spectrum will not put pressure on prices, eventually,” says Musey.

How Fast Can Indian Mobile Operators Improve Call Drop Performance?

How fast an India’s mobile operators improve call drop performance? Maybe faster than you would suppose.

Though it might take some time to add many new cell towers, a remedy many would agree is necessary, the Cellular Operators Association of India (COAI) argues operators already have taken measures to improve performance in just two months time.

“TRAI’s observation that there is no improvement in the QoS/call drops after conducting the second drive test in September 2015, is not in consonance with the reports submitted to DoT by operators, which shows marked improvement in the operators’ networks over the past eight weeks,” says COAI.

The industry has added almost 70,000 additional cell towers in the last six months alone, COAI argues.

Still, dramatic improvements will take some time and capital, possible only if pressing right of way issues and building access issues can be resolved. In India, as elsewhere, as much as consumers might want better mobile phone signal coverage, almost nobody wants a cell tower where they can see it.

The arguments come in the wake of a decision by the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI) requiring user compensation for call drops at the rate of Re. 1 per call drop, up to a maximum of three calls per day.

Just about everybody except local residents might agree that many more towers are required. That, in turn, requires site access and rights of way, in-building solutions, license terms and conditions.

Beyond that, mobile operators argue that defining what a “call drop” is, for purposes of providing compensation, is a bit subjective. Consumers have different definitions than engineers have. Nor is it always clear where a call drop has been caused, and therefore where the penalty has to be assessed (it might be the originating carrier, it might be the terminating carrier).

The rules apparently require resolution within four hours, for each instance, including notification to the customer, with details of compensation.

That “is not realistic,” COAI argues.

“Compensation to the consumers for call drops is not the correct approach and will not resolve the underlying problems which are in the main, beyond the immediate control of the operators,” said Rajan Mathews,COAI director general. “Until and unless adequate infrastructure is allowed to develop, the issue cannot be resolved.”

There are potentially significant revenue implications.

The average revenue per user in India is not more than Rs 125. So compensation for three dropped calls a day equals Rs 90 in payments, potentially reducing revenue 72 percent.

Perhaps more realistically, earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortization (EBITDA) could shrink by seven percent to eight percent. That might be all or most of the actual profit margin for some providers.

According to COAI, the right approach to the issue would be to address the lack of cell-sites, which in turn, would help boost the network capacities and improve the quality of the services.

Which Customers Drive Demand for the Highest-Bandwidth Services?

In many developing economies, it arguably is the case that Long Term Evolution fourth generation networks, where available, have been used most by business customers, even if that likely tends not to be the case elsewhere.

But there is truth to the argument that, in many markets, the absolute fastest services--fixed or mobile--have the highest appeal to business users. The simple reason is that such customers often do not pay for the services, so “cost” is immaterial.

That might be the case for fixed network Internet access services, at least most of the services where the fastest speeds sell for triple-digit amounts. It arguably is not the case when gigabit services cost only double digit sums, and there are no "slower" service options.

In the U.S. mobile market, where neither quality of service nor speed are possible differentiators of service provided by any single operator to its customers, the predominance of business users is not an issue.

But that might not be the case everywhere. Business users likely are disproportionately heavy users of faster network platforms (4G instead of 3G, for example).

Executives at U.K. mobile firm EE seem to believe business users will be the primary candidates for a gigabit LTE service.

“The biggest impact of 4G has been on the business side, not on the consumer side," said EE CEO Olaf Swantee. "Data volumes among consumers have grown four times but on the business side they have grown six times since we first launched."

Spectrum Policy Now Reflects Broader Trends in Communications, Content Ecosystems

Keep all spectrum matters in perspective, as they are part of a wider pattern of change across the global communications and content ecosystems. Simply put, virtually all key developments within either ecosystem, over the past few decades, have aimed to--or have had the unintended effect--of reducing every source of traditional advantage within each of the ecosystems.

That is true for new licensed and license-exempt spectrum allocations, and especially true of all proposals for spectrum sharing, in any of its forms.

Whatever else you may wish to note about the big trends in telecom, content and communications over the past couple of decades, the emergence of the Internet, and IP-based applications, has to be deemed the single most important development.

When virtually all useful application can be used by any person or machine, on any available network, that necessarily reduces any advantage “network ownership” used to confer. That does not mean ownership of assets is meaningless. It matters. It simply doesn’t matter as much as it has, in the past.

That state of affairs also means the cost of getting into any part of the communications or content business, other than simple access, has changed. Simply, no provider “needs” to build or operate its own network to get into business. That is why owners of access network assets pay so much attention is paid to “over the top” apps and services.

source: Boston Consulting Group

source: Boston Consulting Group

Not far behind, though, is the emergence of mobility as a core access platform. There are currently almost seven billion mobile phone subscriptions globally, or one for every person on Earth.

So dominant has mobility become that most new Internet infrastructure platforms assume the mobile operators are the “access providers,” while all the other platforms are backhaul and transport providers.

Whether we are talking about new constellations of low earth orbit satellites, fleets of balloons or unmanned aerial vehicles, TV white spaces or Wi-Fi, the primary (or exclusive) business arrangement will entail new backhaul and transport connections that use mobile or Wi-Fi as the retail connection.

In a few instances, high-power satellites are envisioned as an actual retail solution, and TV white spaces or fixed wireless in general can function either as backhaul or access, even if backhaul is the primary value.

Arguably just as important are the changes in relative advantage possessed by various participants in the ecosystem, the inevitable and planned result of all efforts to stimulate competition.

It is perhaps obvious, but the intended outcome for all major initiatives to stimulate competition is a loss of market share by incumbents, and growing market share by attackers. And since pro-competitive policies are embedded with virtually all policy initiatives, it is logical to predict that incumbent advantages are being whittled away, over time, virtually everywhere.

Typical Internet Access Speeds Across ASEAN

A look at typical Internet access speeds in Association of Southeast Asia Nations countries. 

source: propinoy

Ofcom to Auction 190 MHz of Spectrum in 2.3-GHz and 3.4-GHz Bands

Ofcom confirmed plans for an early-2016 auction of spectrum to support mobile broadband services, using spectrum formerly reserved for use by the Ministry of Defence.

A total of 190 MHz of spectrum is being made available in two bands--2.3 GHz and 3.4 GHz--equivalent to around 75 percent of the spectrum released by Ofcom through the 4G auction in 2013.

The auction process includes reserve (minimum) prices totalling £70m for the spectrum.

There will not be a cap on the amounts bidders can buy. Ofcom proposes to auction the spectrum in lots of 10 MHz for the 2.3 GHz band and 5 MHz for the 3.4 GHz band.

Many existing mobile handsets from major manufacturers, including the Apple iPhone 6, HTC Desire and Samsung Galaxy, are already compatible with the 2.3 GHz spectrum.

The band is being used for high-speed 4G mobile broadband networks in ten countries outside Europe, including China, India and Australia.

The 3.4 GHz band is currently being used for 4G wireless broadband in six countries including the UK, Canada and Spain.

Internet Basics Assists Rural ISP Offering Wi-Fi Hotspot Access

Use of Wi-Fi as an Internet access platform in India is growing, even if that might seem a difficult proposition in country with fixed network facilities. BSNL is among those who now are deploying public hotspot networks.

The government of India has said it will create facilities offering public Wi-Fi in 2,500 cities and towns across the country over three years, with the network built and operated by state-owned Bharat Sanchar Nigam Ltd (BSNL).

The city of Delhi also separately is working on a municipal Wi-Fi plan of its own, that might use a freemium business model.

For its part, Bharti Airtel Limited (Airtel) announced that Uber riders across India will be able to pay for their trips using Airtel Money, the firm’s mobile wallet service. As part of that plan, Uber vehicles will be outfitted with Airtel 4G connections, offering free Wi-Fi inside Uber vehicles.

The government of Bihar, meanwhile, plans to offer free Wi-Fi at all colleges within the state.

Facebook’s Internet Basics non-profit also now is assisting local operators in creating networks of hotspot access.

Internet Basics has, for example,  partnered with an Indian rural Internet access provider, AirJaldi, to manage the operation of the Express Wi-Fi service.

As currently configured, Express Wi-Fi costs 10 rupees, or about 15 cents, for one day’s access to 100 megabytes of data. For $3, users can buy use of 20 gigabytes of data, which can be used over the course of a month.

Those prices are roughly 33 percent of the cost of mobile prepaid data plans from Airtel, by wa of comparison.

As always, sustainability of the business model is a key important near-term objective. In terms of distribution, Free Basics has concluded that prospects are best if only a single distributor has rights to sell the service in any given village. The initiative aims to serve some 40 villages.

“If you want to scale up, you have to present a sustainable economic model,” said Michael Ginguld, AirJaldi’s director of strategy and operations.

Is Top of Thailand Mobile Market Stable?

Thailand's policies related to mobile services are not always transparent or easy to understand. That remains the case. It is not obvious how new spectrum assignments and concessions to operate one of the major mobile wholesale networks relate to promoting or restricting competition.

Some reports might lead to a conclusion that the NBTC wants to limit AIS market power by restricting its access to spectrum obtained by TOT. Others might argue the reverse, that AIS is in line to use more TOT spectrum than it does at present.

Among the implications: will leadership of the Thai mobile market change as new spectrum allocations and commercial deals are signed?

The argument that regulators are trying to encourage competition relies on a rumored license allowing AIS to use 80 percent of mobile spectrum as new licenses are issued. The problem is that final details have not been released.

AIS, Thailand’s largest mobile operator, presently relying on the TOT network to underpin its operations, is said to have the best chance of becoming the user of 80 percent of TOT mobile network capacity available as a result of new license renewals.

Keep in mind that it is TOT that will hold the license, while AIS only has rights to use any available TOT spectrum.

What is not so clear is whether any such rumored access applies only to a 900-MHz license renewal, or also applies to 2.1-GHz and 2.3-GHZ access as well.

So it isn’t yet clear whether the 80-percent figure applies only to 900-MHz spectrum, or also might extend to new fourth-generation spectrum to be released in the 2.3-GHz bands sometime in mid-2016.

If the former, rather than the latter, the decision will have fewer consequences than the numbers immediately would suggest.

While the rumored new license would allocate 80 percent of the available spectrum to one operator, while reserving  about 20 percent of TOT capacity for wholesale use by any other mobile operator, only 17.5 MHz is being made available under the new license, and all of that capacity had formerly been used by AIS.

In other words, AIS will keep most, but not all of the spectrum it has been licensing from TOT, up to this point.

AT present, AIS has a concession to use about 42 percent of total TOT network capacity, but most of that capacity is unaffected by the new license issuance. Fully 45 MHz of a total of 77 MHz of spectrum is licensed until 2025 or 2027, and is used by AIS, DTAC, True and other firms.

A formal announcement is expected by mid-November 2015.

TOT is one of two major mobile infrastructure providers in Thailand, supplying most of the capacity used by AIS. CAT underpins operations of True and DTAC, the other two big firms in Thailand.

There are other key decisions coming, or perhaps already made. No matter what happens with any decision on 900-MHz spectrum renewal, there is the separate matter of the contract to operate the TOT mobile networks.

There are some suggestions that AIS also will be named the operator of TOT’s network facilities as well. AIS had been operating the mobile network facilities under a prior deal that now also is being renegotiated.

Some suggest AIS already has won the bid to be the operator of the mobile networks, as it had been doing in the past.  

AIS reportedly already has won the bid to operate the tower network on behalf of TOT, and might also be the entity to light the coming 4G wholesale network as well.

Control of spectrum is one huge--and often decisive--advantage for any provider of a spectrum-based service. For those reasons, regulators seeking to stimulate and promote competition often use spectrum access policies as a tool to encourage new or existing competitors.

That is the thinking behind the 600-MHz incentive auction spectrum reserve. The U.S. Federal Communications Commission will not allow either AT&T or Verizon to bid on 20 percent of any available spectrum, reserving such spectrum for other providers.

Similar thinking underlies spectrum trading policies in the Indian market, where no single mobile operator is allowed to earn more than a fixed percentage of all available local spectrum.

The stance to be taken by Thailand’s National Broadcasting and Telecommunications Commission regarding an important license renewal, additional spectrum releases and management of some of TOT’s facilities might provide another a case in point, though the situation is at the moment confusing.

source: Yazzo

source: Yozzo

FCC Studying Use of 28 GHz, 37 GHz, 39 GHz and 64 GHZ to 71 GHz for 5G and Other Services

The U.S. Federal Communications Commission has issued a notice of proposed rulemaking

pertaining to flexible use of new 28 GHz, 37 GHz, 39 GHz, and 64 GHz to 71 GHz “millimeter wave” bands to support fifth generation mobile and satellite communications.

The NPRM proposes to make these bands available using a variety of authorization schemes, including traditional wide area licensing, unlicensed, and a shared approach that provides access for both local area and wide area networks.

The NPRM envisions allowing a variety of platforms and uses, including mobile and satellite, to

coexist and expand through market-based mechanisms.

The NPRM also seeks comment on other bands above 24 GHz that may be considered in the future.

The 28 and 39 GHz bands are being contemplated for small cell deployments, with county-sized service areas, and offering fixed, mobile or some hybrid set of services.

In the 37 GHz band, the FCC contemplates a hybrid licensing scheme allowing indoor and outdoor services.

In the 64 GHz to 71 GHz band, the FCC proposes unlicensed use and more spectrum for short-range connection services such as WiGig, on a shared basis with existing federal licensees.

Everything but Mobile is Sort of "Rounding Error"

“Service providers must seriously consider fiber-free solutions to address the issue of providing ultra-fast connectivity to the most hard-to-access areas,  argues Lee Palmer, the Kenton Group commercial director.

In one sense, the statement is self evident. No single access platform ever is the most appropriate--and has a clearly sustainable business model--at every single site, anywhere, all the time.

In the specific sense noted by Palmer, use of all-copper solutions might make sense where fixed networks already are deployed.

“There are still a large number of businesses in areas that are deemed unsuitable for fiber,” said Palmer, who said VDSL2+ is a workable solution.

Others might further note that there are lots of instances where no fixed network platform is sustainable. That is why mobile access has become the accepted way of providing voice services throughout most of the world, and why mobile is seen as the likely mass deployment Internet access platform as well.

But not even mobile is “always” the best option, or even a “possible” option. Satellite suppliers point to cruise ship, oil drilling platforms and other isolated locations as examples.

Somewhere in between, supporters of TV white spaces and other fixed wireless networks, as well as newer options such as unmanned aerial vehicles and balloons are touted by Facebook and Google.

It is unarguably the case that no single platform is best for all scenarios. It also is clear that wireless solutions of one sort or another are going to be the “best” platform for the widest range of human and machine requirements.

In a growing sense, all access methods but mobile are "rounding error," some might quip. That isn't quite true, but is indicative of the scale differences between mobile and every other access alternative.

source: ITU

source: Telecom Insights