Some idea of how much capacity in the mobile business is about to change can be gleaned by comparing present allocations of spectrum for U.S. mobile services with coming allocations, shared spectrum, additional unlicensed spectrum and lots of licensed millimeter wave assets.
Consider that all U.S. mobile operators have about 195 MHz nationwide, weighted for population, and as much as 590 MHz to nearly 700 MHz of total spectrum.
Consider that the new Consumer Broadband Radio Service (CBRS) adds as much as 100 MHz of new spectrum. The capacity available just in the 60-GHz unlicensed band
“The unlicensed band at 60 GHz contains more spectrum than has been used by every satellite, cellular, WiFi, AM Radio, FM Radio, and television station in the world,” some would say.
The FCC, meanwhile has said it plans to release nearly 11 GHz of new spectrum (capacity), in the bands above the 24 GHz frequency range, for mobile use. The FCC also currently considering whether to open up even more spectrum in the millimeter wave bands for 5G and other uses, for perhaps a total of 29 GHz of new spectrum (capacity).
In other words, new spectrum representing 48 times the current allocations for mobile are coming. New unlicensed spectrum alone will amount to nearly 12 times the current total mobile allocation.
The amount of capital required to put ALL of this current spectrum to efficient use does not exist....FCC should start thinking about how to get those assets which have not been deployed in the past 10 years back and into a CBRS like system. Need to change language of "use".
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