Regulators are allocating spectrum bands to deliver 4G high-speed mobile Internet service across a wide range of frequencies. But the quest for bandwidth is harming prospects for 4G device economies of scale, operator competitiveness and 4G global data roaming. Operators and regulators must address spectrum harmonization, not just carve out bandwidth. 4G’s demanding speed requirements—100 Mbps peak rates for high mobility and 1 Gbps for low mobility—necessarily translate into a need for more radio spectrum.
National regulators are working to secure this needed spectrum, but their efforts are resulting in fragmentation instead of an ideal narrow set of spectrum ranges consistently available around the world. Yankee Group believes the trends in 4G spectrum allocation threaten device economies of scale, operator competitiveness and the practicality of international roaming. Cellular-news reports the following:
- Europe gets it mostly right. Europe is taking a harmonized approach to both spectrum and technology, with key new networks rolling out in Sweden, Norway and Germany all using consistent spectrum bands.
- The U.S. goes it alone. By allowing carriers to take spectrum in advance of the rest of the world and fragmenting its 700 MHz digital dividend, the U.S. is ending up out of step with not just Mexico but also Canada.
- Asia is slow to decide. Across the region, regulators have moved slowly to clear existing occupants from key spectrum. Plus, Japan – like the U.S. – continues to allocate spectrum with little regard for international harmonization.
While addressing the ITU’s Global Symposium for Regulators at Pattaya, Thailand, during March 2008, Yoshio Utsumi publicly lamented for Japan not adopting GSM as the preferred mobile standard. The former ITU chief may repent again for his country not harmonizing the 4G spectrum. Japan may afford it. But the developing economies of Asia lack such luxury.
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