THE FUTURE OF IMT IN THE
3300-4200 MHz FREQUENCY RANGE
June 2017
ABOUT THE WHITE PAPER
This white paper from the GSA outlines the
opportunity in the 3300-4200 MHz frequency
range which is the largest contiguous
frequency range potentially available for
mobile broadband below 6 GHz. The amount
of spectrum that can be made available in this
frequency range will be exploited by the latest
international mobile telecommunications
(IMT) technologies, in particular the 5G
New Radio (5G-NR) air interface, to deliver
increased capacity and a better experience to
end users.
The GSA Spectrum Group is actively working
on multiple spectrum projects in all regions
around the globe, supporting regulators,
©Copyright 2017 Global mobile Suppliers Association
administrations and the broader mobile
telecommunications community regarding
spectrum issues. GSA already represents the
leading suppliers in the mobile industry and is
progressively supporting mobile broadband
development based on a harmonized and
standards based approach. This white paper
is intended to help the industry understand
the benefits of spectrum harmonisation in
the 3300-4200 MHz range. GSA invites all
suppliers of the telecommunications industry
and beyond to join GSA and support spectrum
initiatives and the development of 3GPP
technologies.
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TABLE OF CONTENTS
EXECUTIVE SUMMARY. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3
NAVIGATING THIS DOCUMENT. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5
5G USAGE SCENARIOS AND APPLICATIONS IN THE 3300-4200 MHZ RANGE. . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6
GLOBAL STATUS OF IMT IN 3300-4200 MHZ . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9
ITU-R decisions from WRC-15. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9
Regional and national initiatives. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9
FREQUENCY ARRANGEMENTS FOR 3300-4200 MHZ . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11
3GPP channel arrangements . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 13
Choices and challenges when defining a national band plan . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 14
The importance of wide channel bandwidth . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 16
Access scheme: TDD. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 19
Recommendations towards effective assignments. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 21
MASSIVE MIMO. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 22
Massive MIMO in the field. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 23
Regulatory Implications. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 24
Further coverage improvements through low frequencies. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 25
FROM STANDARDS TO COMMERCIAL AVAILABILITY . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 26
The paths towards 5G . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 26
Equipment availability. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 27
SHARING vs. CLEARING . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 28
Socio-economic benefits from IMT use in 3300-4200 MHz . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 28
Incumbent usage . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 28
Compatibility analysis . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 30
ANNEX A: ITU-R IMT IDENTIFICATIONS IN THE 3300-4200 MHZ RANGE . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 35
ANNEX B: REGIONAL AND NATIONAL INITIATIVES . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 36
ANNEX C: SOCIO-ECONOMIC STUDIES . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 41
ANNEX D: INCUMBENT USAGE (NON IMT). . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 43
ACRONYMS. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 46

©Copyright 2017 Global mobile Suppliers Association 2

EXECUTIVE SUMMARY
The 3300-4200 MHz frequency range offers a
unique opportunity for spectrum availability
below 6 GHz. The amount of spectrum that can
be made available in this frequency range will
be exploited by the latest international mobile
telecommunications (IMT) technologies,
in particular the 5G New Radio (5G-NR) air
interface, to deliver increased capacity and a
better experience to end users.
The 3300-4200 MHz frequency range offers
an optimal balance between coverage and
capacity, which will support a broad range
of 5G applications, including: Augmented
Reality/Virtual Reality (AR/VR), Ultra High
Definition (UHD) video, smart home, smart
manufacturing, health care and drones. The
3300-4200 MHz band will also provide both
mobile connectivity “on the go” and Fixed
Wireless Access (FWA) for domestic and
business applications.
Spectrum availability for IMT in the 3300-4200
MHz frequency range is increasing: 3400-3600
MHz is now almost globally available, and a
large number of countries in different regions
are taking action in order to reach 200-400
MHz of contiguous bandwidth in the 3300-
4200 MHz frequency range for 5G. This will
be the largest contiguous bandwidth for IMT
below 6 GHz.
3400-3800 MHz is the primary 5G band in
Europe, and is being investigated by regulators
from Middle East and North Africa who
have recently developed an Arab Spectrum
Management Group (ASMG) survey for this
frequency range.
Operators and regulators in Africa, Asia
(including China and India) and Latin America
are supporting the harmonization of the 3300-
3400 MHz band, identified for IMT at WRC-15,
and the sharing opportunities in the 3400-
3600/3700 MHz range.
©Copyright 2017 Global mobile Suppliers Association
In the U.S., in addition to the already available
3550-3700 MHz range (the CBRS band), the
Mobile Now Act proposes further studies for
a number of bands including 3100-3550 MHz
and 3700-4200 MHz. Furthermore, the 3400-
3700 MHz band is considered an important
candidate in the Republic of Korea for 5G
deployments.
Parts of the 3300-4200 MHz range is being
considered for early trials in a number of
countries/regions in the world: trials in the
3400-3800 MHz frequency band are being
prepared for 2018 in Europe, there are
ongoing trials in China (3400-3600 MHz)
and Japan (3600-4200 MHz). Trials are also
planned in Australia (3400-3600 MHz).
The 3rdGeneration Partnership Project
(3GPP) is working on the 5G-NR channel
arrangements for 3300-4200 MHz. This is an
important first step toward the creation of
a 5G ecosystem across this whole spectrum
range. It is clear that not all of the 3300-
4200 MHz range will be available in any one
country in the foreseeable future, and that
the needs of current incumbent services such
as Fixed Satellite Service (FSS), Fixed Service
(FS) and Radiolocation should be given careful
consideration. Regulators will decide which
portions of spectrum will be made available
on a national level, based on incumbent users
as well as national priorities and strategies.
It is also expected that a given regulator
may make different portions of the 3300-
4200 MHz range available at different times,
incrementally building large contiguous blocks
of spectrum.
The Global mobile Suppliers Association
(GSA) supports the availability of the largest
possible contiguous frequency range for IMT
within 3300-4200 MHz on a national level. As a
consequence, many countries will need to plan
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and carry out actions to address the current
fragmentation of existing assignments.
Possibilities for sharing between 5G and
other services should then be taken into
consideration. As a general recommendation,
GSA advocates clearing the bands to be
used by 5G, to enable maximum efficiency
and coverage of 5G deployments, especially
considering the separation distances required
between 5G and for example FSS earth
stations. Nevertheless, in some instances
sharing may be possible, for example where
the incumbent stations are few and located
in areas where appropriate protection can be
provided.
The 5G New Radio (5G-NR) is being designed
to inherently take maximum advantage of
wideband channels to deliver improved
spectral efficiency, higher capacity and
improved user experience. Wide contiguous
nation-wide spectrum assignments to
operators in the order of 100 MHz or more
will allow operators to reap the full benefits of
the 3300-4200 MHz frequency range for 5G.
GSA supports the Time Division Duplex
(TDD) method for this frequency range, as
the unpaired frequency arrangement better
accommodates existing assignments to other
services. TDD also has the advantage of
supporting UL/DL traffic asymmetry, and, in
some cases, provides an increased efficiency
for massive multiple input multiple output
(MIMO) technology by exploiting channel
reciprocity. To fully exploit the advantages
from TDD, the GSA recommends adopting
common synchronization and alignment of
UL/DL transmissions between operators, to
avoid inter-operator interference.
The proximity of the 3300-4200 MHz
frequency range to existing bands used for
mobile provides potential for reusing the
©Copyright 2017 Global mobile Suppliers Association
existing infrastructure in areas where dense
networks are deployed, thus delivering
enhanced capacity without incurring network
densification costs.
The adoption of massive MIMO in the 3300-
4200 MHz frequency range will boost peak
and average downlink cell throughput with
affordable complexity; the 64T64R massive
MIMO technology is commercially available
and has been successfully tested in the 3400-
3600 MHz band.
To avoid undue constraints on the
implementation of the innovative massive
MIMO base stations, the regulatory
frameworks should embrace innovation
and account for the latest developments in
3GPP regarding characteristics of advanced
antenna systems, for instance concerning the
requirements on unwanted emissions.
The available lower frequencies (e.g. 1800, 800,
900, 700 MHz) may be used in combination
with 3300-4200 MHz 5G-NR connectivity to
provide additional coverage improvement,
facilitating the reuse of existing sites.
There are two paths leading to 5G: the
LTE Evolution and the 5G New Radio (5G-
NR) access, which will have the capacity to
address all identified requirements and usage
scenarios.
LTE-TDD networks and devices (including
smartphones) are already commercially
available; the first 5G trials in various portions
of the 3300-4200 MHz range will start at
the end of 2017. GSA expects commercial
readiness of the 5G-NR ecosystem in 2018,
targeting broader commercialization from
2019.
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NAVIGATING THIS DOCUMENT
GSA believes that the 3300-4200 MHz
frequency range will be the primary band in
the spectrum below 6 GHz1, for the global
introduction of 5G. This range is key to
addressing 5G use cases in the short/medium
term by making a large amount of contiguous
spectrum, with good propagation properties,
available to operators.
The aim of this paper is to share information
on a broad range of topics connected with
the introduction of IMT in the 3300-4200 MHz
range and why this frequency range is so
important for the evolution of IMT and for 5G
in particular. The paper also contains insights
into the development of the IMT ecosystem,
and how IMT will be using the 3300-4200 MHz
frequency range.
The first chapter provides a brief description
of some of the key 5G usage scenarios and
applications, to help demonstrate the value
of the 3300-4200 MHz from the end user
perspective.
The following chapter provides the status
of the International Telecommunication
Union Radiocommunication sector (ITU-R)
regulations, together with updates on the
status of the regional and national initiatives
in terms of governments’ and regulators’
plans and decisions regarding the availability
of the 3300-4200 MHz spectrum for IMT.
deals with the choices and challenges that
regulators currently face when arranging the
band-plan at a national level: which frequency
portion within the 3300-4200 MHz range
to address, which duplex mode, block size,
channel bandwidth etc. The chapter proceeds
with the main issues associated with the
adoption of the time division duplex (TDD)
access scheme.
The GSA recommendations towards effective
spectrum assignments are at the end of the
third chapter.
The massive MIMO technology is addressed
in the following chapter including regulatory
implications and information from field
implementations.
The fifth chapter describes the evolution
of IMT technology in the 3300-4200 MHz
frequency range, with particular reference
to the various 3GPP releases. Information
on actual equipment availability from GSA
suppliers is also provided.
The final chapter of this white paper addresses
the incumbent users in the frequency
range, and explores the spectrum sharing
opportunities, as well as the possibility
of clearing the band when economically
sustainable.

The first part of the third chapter addresses

the frequency arrangement in terms of the
decisions from 3GPP, for both 5G air interfaces,
based on the LTE Evolution and the 5G New
Radio (5G-NR) respectively. The second part

1. While this whitepaper exclusively focuses on the 3300-4200 MHz

frequency range from a global perspective, the GSA acknowledges
that there are some countries in the Asia Pacific region that have also
identified the 4400-4990 MHz range as an additional key portion of
spectrum for the introduction of 5G

©Copyright 2017 Global mobile Suppliers Association 5

5G USAGE SCENARIOS AND APPLICATIONS
IN THE 3300-4200 MHZ RANGE
5G will support frequency bands within a very
wide range (450 MHz to 86 GHz), exploiting
the specific characteristics of the different
bands. Portions of the 3300-4200 MHz range
will be deployed first in many countries for
5G, while other bands will be added to ensure
very high capacity and adequate coverage
when needed.
Figure 1: The role of 3300-4200 MHz
Operation at Medium Frequencies (2 to 6
GHz) provides the best compromise between
capacity (strictly related with bandwidth
availability) and coverage, meeting a large
portion of the 5G/IMT-2020 requirements. 5G
in the 3300-4200 MHz frequency range will
facilitate a consistent user experience ranging
from high capacity and high density (up to 3-5
Gbit/s peak throughput in the case of 100 MHz
channel bandwidth) to wider coverage. It will
also address suburban areas and small towns
without requiring extra site densification,
unlike current deployments.
High Frequencies (above 6 GHz) will provide
the very high capacity (e.g. up to 20 Gbit/s),
which will be required in some specific use
cases (e.g. indoor or outdoor hotspots).
Low Frequencies (below 2 GHz) will ensure
wide area coverage for urban, suburban and
©Copyright 2017 Global mobile Suppliers Association
rural areas: a fundamental complement to the
higher frequencies ensuring consistent wide
area services, including deep indoor coverage.
Figure 1 describes the role of the different
frequency ranges, with respect to the 5G
usage scenarios as defined by the ITU-R2.
In the first wave of 5G investments, it
is expected that operators will focus on
applications involving the enhanced Mobile
Broadband (eMBB) and Ultra Reliable Low
Latency Communications (URLLC) usage
scenarios for dense urban, urban and suburban
scenarios. A variety of deployment scenarios
including indoor hotspot, dense urban, urban
and rural macro will be addressed.
The following paragraphs briefly describe
some of the foreseen applications that will
benefit from the availability of 5G in 3300-
4200 MHz range. Figure 2 page 7.
Mobile Virtual/Augmented Reality and
Ultra High Definition Video
Ultra-high definition (UHD) video represents
the natural evolution of today’s video-
based services, in line with the continuous
improvement of device capabilities. Delivery
of UHD video will require throughputs in the
order of 30-40 Mbit/s for 4K and 80-100 Mbit/s
2 . Recommendation ITU-R M.2083-0 (09/2015) – ‘IMT Vision –
Framework and overall objectives of the future development of IMT
for 2020 and beyond’
6
for 8K with latency in the order of 20 ms (end-
to-end)3.
There is high expectation on the future role
of wireless video immersive experiences
through augmented and virtual reality (AR/
VR) that will be delivered with high-end
5G smartphones providing connectivity to
glasses and 360-degrees cameras. Gaming4,
entertainment, tourism, education, live
personal streaming of events are just some
initial examples among many. AR/VR will lead
to throughput requirements in the order of 50
Mbit/s to 1 Gbit/s and 10 ms latency (end-to-
end)5.
Figure 2: Application examples for 5G operating in 3300-4200 MHz
5G fixed wireless access services and smart
home
In the past years, mobile operators have
successfully embraced new business models
by adding fixed wireless access (FWA) to their
mobile broadband (MBB) offer. Wireless
customer premises equipment (CPEs), based
on 4G and 4.5G, have received significant
acceptance in the market, in addition to xDSL
broadband modems: a complement to the
operators’ fixed broadband (FBB) offer or a
means to compete with other existing FBB
operators.
3 . Huawei M-Lab 2016.
4 . Notably, the success of Pokémon Go illustrates an entertainment/
gaming usage scenario that used augmented reality to disrupt mobile
gaming.
5 . Huawei M-Lab 2016.
©Copyright 2017 Global mobile Suppliers Association
The best frequency range below 6 GHz to
further support the development of FWA
‘fibre-like’ quadruple-play services6 under the
same infrastructure and commercial package
is 3300-4200 MHz.
Operators can also extend their FWA offer by
including the Internet of things (IoT) smart
home services based on 5G (e.g. video alarms
offering, remote e-health services for elderly
people, etc.). There are opportunities to offer
home gateways providing both short range
connections (typically BTLE, WiFi, Zigbee,
etc.) to connect objects within the home and
5G access to connect the IoT platform in the
home to the network.
Smart manufacturing
Cable-free robots will be connected to the
manufacturing network with low latency and
reliable 5G, with clear benefits in terms of
manufacturing process flexibility and reduction of
cabling costs.
Other aspects in the manufacturing process that
will benefit from 5G include management of
local, national and international logistics, wireless
data acquisition for mass industrial sensors in
the factory, intelligent production scheduling,
energy consumption control, real-time equipment
monitoring, and remote exception handling (AR
technical assistance, HD video/VR spread to remote
experts).
6. Voice, video, data connectivity with mobility when required.
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 Health care The following requirements should be
considered; relatively high throughput (100
Remote mobile health care would allow
Mbit/s) even in the high mobility scenario, and
individualized consultations, treatment
low end-to-end latency ranging from 1 to 10
and patient monitoring outside traditional
ms even in the high mobility scenario.
healthcare institutions (hospitals and clinics):
patients and practitioners could use video Drones
conferencing, telepresence, 3D hologram video
5G will support cellular-assisted flights
facilities for remote consultations and visits,
of drones beyond the visual line of sight.
which would require live video feed (4K, 8K, 3D)
Applications will include infrastructure,
in both uplink and downlink. Health sensors
transport and delivery, and agriculture.
and wearable devices (including wireless pace-
Charging and service docks on cellular
makers), could be used to remotely monitor
network sites could support 24/7-automated
progress of treatment in real time.
flights. 5G will also support real time image
It could be possible to perform early triage transmission from drones.
and treatment while transporting a patient
Regulatory implications might limit the initial
to the hospital, if paramedics are able to
uptake of these applications.
transmit the patient’s medical data including
high resolution images, diagnostic sound and
high quality diagnostic video.

5G USAGE SCENARIOS AND APPLICATIONS IN 3300-4200 MHz RANGE

The 3300-4200 MHz range offers an optimal balance between coverage and capacity, which
will support a broad range of 5G applications, including: Augmented Reality/Virtual Reality
(AR/VR) and Ultra-High Definition (UHD) video, smart home, smart manuacturing, health care
and drones; the 3300-4200 MHz range will provide both mobile connectivity “on the go” and
Fixed Wireless Access (FWA) for domestic and business applications.

©Copyright 2017 Global mobile Suppliers Association 8

GLOBAL STATUS OF IMT IN 3300-4200 MHZ
This section describes the growing
availability of the 3300-4200 MHz range
globally, summarizing the status of the IMT
identifications within the ITU-R process, as
well the various initiatives at regional and
national level.
ITU-R decisions from WRC-15
The work carried out during the World
Radiocommunication Conferences WRC-
07 and WRC-15 has led to the harmonized
International Mobile Telecommunication
(IMT) identification of 3400-3600 MHz,
throughout Regions 1 and 2 and in many
countries in Region 3: this provides a solid
basis to support the development of the IMT
ecosystem in this frequency band. In addition,
a large number of countries in Africa, along
with some countries in Latin America and Asia
Pacific, added the 3300-3400 MHz band; some
countries in Region 2 added the 3600-3700
MHz band to their IMT identifications at WRC-
15. No identification has been agreed yet for
the 3700-4200 MHz portion of the band.
More details on the status of IMT identifications
in 3300-4200 MHz globally are available in
ANNEX A: ITU-R IMT identifications in the
3300-4200 MHz range.
Regional and national initiatives
Regional organizations involved in
spectrum management, as well as national
Administrations, are now working on the
future availability of portions of the spectrum
within the 3300-4200 MHz range, accounting
for the decisions made during the WRC-15 as
well as for the role that this frequency range
will play for 5G.
A high-level summary follows hereafter while
more details on the specific developments are
reported in ANNEX A: ITU-R IMT Identification
in the 3300-4200 MHz range.
©Copyright 2017 Global mobile Suppliers Association
3400-3800 MHz
3400-3800 MHz is the 5G primary band in
Europe.
In the European Commission (EC) mandate7
on 5G to the European  Conference  of Postal
and Telecommunications Administrations
(CEPT), it is noted that the frequency range
3400-3800 MHz is prime spectrum suitable for
the introduction of 5G-based services across
the European Union. Given that this spectrum
is already harmonized for the CEPT countries8
for mobile networks (IMT-Advanced) and
offers wide channel bandwidth it can be used
before 2020. The CEPT is now working to revise
and amend the existing harmonized technical
conditions for this range, to ensure suitability
for 5G terrestrial wireless systems. The work
will be completed by June 2018 while stable
results are expected during 2017.
The CEPT is also working on guidelines to help
Administrations ensure the availability of the
largest contiguous blocks, starting from the
current fragmented situation in which smaller
blocks have been assigned to different services
and operators, sometimes at regional and
local levels. The EC recently published their 5G
Action Plan proposing a harmonized roadmap
towards 5G across the European Union: trials
from 2018, initial commercial launches in
2020 (at least in one city per country) with
wider coverage expected in all major cities
7 . RSCOM16-40rev3: Mandate to the CEPT to develop harmonised
technical conditions for spectrum use in support of the introduction
of next-generation (5G) terrestrial wireless systems in the Union.
8. Conditions for the use of the whole 3400-3800 MHz range by
IMT-A have been harmonized across CEPT countries since 2011 (ECC
Decision (11)06 ‘Harmonised frequency arrangements for mobile/
fixed communications networks (MFCN) operating in the bands
3400-3600 MHz and 3600-3800 MHz’; Commision implementing
decision 2014/276/EU (May 2014) ‘on amending Decision 2008/411/
EC on the harmonisation of the 3400-3800 MHz frequency band for
terrestrial systems capable of providing electronic communications
services in the Community (…)’ – May 2014
9
and communication paths by 2025. The GSA
expects all initial launches across Europe to
be based on 3400-3800 MHz.
The 3400-3600 MHz band is already broadly
identified for IMT in African countries,
although its predominant use today is fixed
wireless access services. Countries are in the
process of transitioning regulations to allow
mobile use.
The future use of the 3400-3600 MHz range
for 5G as well as the possible use of the 3600-
3800 MHz range is now being considered by
several countries in the Middle East and North
Africa. To the extent of the currently available
knowledge, the 3400-3600 MHz range has
been used for WiMAX and then re-farmed
to LTE in several countries from the region.
Countries like Bahrain, Egypt, Saudi Arabia,
Morocco, Qatar and UAE are considering this
band for 5G. ASMG has developed during its
meeting in April 2017 a questionnaire to Arab
Administrations to assess the usage of the
3400-3800 MHz frequency range in the Arab
region, as support for consideration of this
band for 5G. Responses to the questionnaire
are expected during July 2017.
In Region 2, at the 28th CITEL PCC.II meeting
one proposal of frequency arrangements for
the 3300-3700 MHz was submitted aiming at
the entire 3300-3700 MHz frequency range
for IMT with TDD mode taking into account
the benefits of the global harmonization and
the potential economies of scale. Previously
Colombia, Ecuador, Canada and Brazil
presented similar proposals for different
ranges with the objective to leverage the
global IMT harmonization.
A number of major Region 2 countries have
now announced their intention to make
©Copyright 2017 Global mobile Suppliers Association
available parts of the 3300-3700 MHz band
for IMT.
In the U.S., the 3550-3700 MHz has been
allocated for spectrum sharing under a
3-tier construct; Incumbent Users, Priority
Access License (PAL) users and General
Authorized Access (GAA) systems. Commercial
deployments of GAA systems are expected at
the beginning of 2018. Competitive bidding
for PAL licenses in the 3550-3650 MHz range is
expected during the second half of 2018. For
further information on this see the chapter on
Sharing vs. Clearing.
In Region 3, Japan and Australia have already
released a portion of 3400-3600 MHz to IMT;
while additional releases of spectrum in 3400-
3800 MHz to IMT are in progress.
In 2017 Hong Kong will consult on the 3400-
3700 MHz band with a view to reallocating it
to IMT. Singapore is consulting on the 3400-
3600 MHz band also with a view to allocating
it for IMT use.
In China, the IMT-2020 Promotion Group
is carrying out 5G technology trials on
3400-3600 MHz in multiple cities involving
various operators and equipment suppliers.
The Ministry of Industry and Information
Technology (MIIT) of China opened a public
consultation (June 2017) on allocating the
3300-3600 and 4800-5000 MHz bands for 5G
(IMT-2020).
A number of other Region 3 countries are also
working to make available a portion of 3300-
3700 MHz band for IMT; for example, India
is in the process of updating the National
Frequency Allocation Plan (NFAP) to include
identification of 3300-3600 MHz for IMT, the
Republic of Korea plans to auction 3400-3700
MHz in 2018 or 2019.
10
3300-3400 MHz
Several Sub-Sahara African Administrations
are in the process of updating their National
Frequency Allocation Tables to identify 3300-
3400 MHz for IMT.
As mentioned above, various proposals were
submitted in CITEL proposing the whole 3300-
3700 MHz for IMT use; proponents include
Brazil, Canada, Colombia and Ecuador.
Operators in China are considering 3300-
3600 MHz for 5G. The Ministry of Industry
and Information Technology (MIIT) of China
opened a public consultation (June 2017) on
allocating the 3300-3600 and 4800-5000 MHz
bands for 5G (IMT-2020). The final decision is
expected for the second half of 2017.
India is in the process of updating the National
Frequency Allocation Plan (NFAP) to include
identification of 3300-3600 MHz for IMT, with
expected completion in 2017.
3800-4200 MHz
Some countries are considering the possible
use of the band in future on a shared basis
with incumbent systems; discussions are
ongoing in the United Kingdom and in the U.S.
Figure 3: 3300-4200 MHz IMT identification globally (including additional designations in
European countries).
©Copyright 2017 Global mobile Suppliers Association
The 3600-4200 MHz, has been decided
by the Ministry of Internal Affairs and
Communications of Japan for 5G trials starting
from April 2017.
Global view
The map in Figure 3 summarizes the amount
of spectrum identified for IMT in the ITU Radio
Regulations after WRC-15. For Europe, it also
accounts for the EC Decision on the 3400-3800
MHz range. This map gives only the broad
picture – in practice countries may decide
to open a fraction of the spectrum that is
identified in the Radio Regulations for IMT, or
might decide to do so even if the identification
is not there.
Figure 4 shows the status and plans for the
3300-4200 MHz range in some regions and
countries as well as the GSA expectations
for the future, based on publicly available
information.
The progress discussed demonstrates clear
potential for the global harmonization of
3400-3600 MHz and initial uptake for 3300-
3400 and 3600-3800 MHz.
11
Figure 4: 3300-4200 MHz globally – some regional and national preferences.

THE AVAILABILITY OF THE 3300-4200 MHz RANGE FOR IMT

Spectrum availability for IMT within the 3300-4200 MHz range is increasing: 3400-3600 MHz is
now almost globally available, and a large number of countries in different regions are taking
action in order to reach 200-400 MHz of contiguous bandwidth in the 3300-4200 MHz range for
5G. This is the largest contiguous bandwidth for IMT below 6GHz.
3400-3800 MHz is the primary 5G band in Europe, and is being investigated by regulators from
Middle East and North Africa that developed an Arab Spectrum Management Group (ASMG)
survey on this frequency range.
Operators and regulators in Africa, Asia (including China and India) and Latin America are
supporting the harmonization of the newly identified 3300-3400 MHz band and the sharing
opportunities in the 3400-3600/3700 MHz range.
In the U.S., in addition to the already available 3550-3700 MHz range, the Mobile Now Act
proposed further studies for a number of bands including 3100-3550 MHz and 3700-4200 MHz.
Furthermore, the 3400-3700 MHz band is considered an important candidate in the Republic of
Korea for 5G deployments.
Parts of 3300-4200 MHz range are being considered for early trials in a number of countries/
regions in the world: trials in the 3400-3800 MHz band are being prepared for 2018 in Europe,
there are ongoing trials in China (3400-3600 MHz) and Japan (3600-4200 MHz), trials are also
planned in Australia (3400-3600 MHz).

©Copyright 2017 Global mobile Suppliers Association 12

FREQUENCY ARRANGEMENTS FOR 3300-
4200 MHZ
3GPP channel arrangements
3GPP has already specified the channel
arrangement and transmitter/receiver
characteristics for three operating bands
9
in the 3400-3800 MHz range: 3GPP band
42 (3400-3600 MHz), band 43 (3600-3800
MHz) and band 48 (3550-3700 MHz) for LTE
Advanced (LTE-A). Figure 5. The industry is
currently supporting the work within 3GPP,
Figure 5: 3GPP channel arrangements for LTE and its evolution.
towards the definition of a new frequency
arrangement for LTE-A that will address the
newly identified 3300-3400 MHz band. A new
work item10,11 addressing the 3300-3400 MHz
band was recently approved by the 3GPP TSG
WG4 with a target completion date of March
2018.
Figure 6: 3GPP channel arrangements for
5G-NR.
9: 3GPP TS 36.101.
10 . 33GPP RP-171506 - new WI: “new LTE band for 3.3-3.4 GHz
for Africa”: the target for this work item is the definition of the
new LTE TDD band to cover the range 3300-3400MHz, including
band numbering and supported bandwidths. As part of the work,
harmonization with Band 42 and maybe other LTE bands in the 3400-
3800 MHz range will be considered
11 . 3GPP RP-171507 – “Reply LS on standardisation of a new E-UTRA
band from ATU”.
©Copyright 2017 Global mobile Suppliers Association
3GPP does not specify the countries or regions
where equipment can be used. Equipment
operating in any of the bands mentioned above
could be used in any country where mobile use
is authorised in the relevant band, and where
the technical regulations are compatible with
the 3GPP technical characteristics.
Work has also started in 3GPP for the
specification of the 5G-NR12,13 bands which will
address the larger 3300-4200 MHz range14.
The standardization of the new 5G-NR bands
is expected to reach completion by June 2018,
within the 3GPP release 15.
As illustrated in figure 6, such a larger range
could be technically implemented at the User
Equipment (UE) side with two radio chains
addressing, for example, the 3300-3800 MHz
and the 3600-4200 MHz portions respectively.
12. 3GPP RP-170847, ‘New WID on New Radio Access Technology’,
March 2017.
13. 3GPP TR38.802 V14.0.0, 3GPP ‘Technical Report: Study on New
Radio Access Technology, Physical Layer Aspects’ (Release 14), March
2017.
14 . 3GPP RP-170855 - “Work Item on New Radio (NR) Access
Technology” addressing 3.3-4.2 GHz, 4.4-4.99 GHz, 24.25-29.5 GHz,
31.8-33.4 GHz, 37-40 GHz, 1.427-1.518 GHz, Band 3, Band 7, Band 8,
Band 20, Band 28, Band 41, Band 66, Band 1 (Ref.: 3GPP RP-170855).
13
The following options are being discussed in
3GPP:15
•• Specify two different bands (Band X 3300-
3800 MHz: Band Y 3600-4200 MHz)
•• Specify 3300-4200 GHz as a single band,
•• Specify both of the above options, i.e.
definition of 3 new bands
The availability of UEs supporting the whole
3300-4200 range represents a very powerful
means to promote the global ecosystem for
the entire frequency range. This will allow
the newer portions of spectrum (e.g. 3300-
3400 and 3600-3800 MHz) to benefit from the
global economies of scale for the 3400-3600
MHz band. However, it is recognized within
3GPP TSG WG4 that a UE supporting the
whole 3300-4200 range as a single band might
experience some degradation in receiver
performance compared to an implementation
that supports smaller bands e.g. 3300-3800
MHz and 3600-4200 MHz with additional cost,
size and power consumption.
Choices and challenges when defining a
national band plan
This section examines the choices and
challenges that an Administration faces when
considering an IMT designation for a band.
As described earlier, not all of the spectrum
range from 3300-4200 MHz is identified for
IMT globally. Hence, different countries will
be implementing different portions within
the wider range. Administrations have several
spectrum policy aspects to decide on when
considering implementation:
•• the band definition, i.e. in what precise
frequencies IMT will be authorized, taking
account of the benefits of economies of
scale;
15. R4-1704410 3GPP R4-1704410 – “WF on 3.3-4.2 GHz and 4.4-4.99
GHz NR spectrum”, April 2017.
©Copyright 2017 Global mobile Suppliers Association
•• the pairing arrangement;
•• the size of the blocks for award;
•• the target channel-width, which should
be determined by the expected usage
scenarios and expected technologies;
•• transition and coexistence, since in most
cases there are incumbents that need
consideration.
Regulators’ selection of the most
appropriate frequency arrangements
As described earlier, the entire spectrum range
from 3300-4200 MHz is not identified for IMT
globally. Depending on the local conditions, at
national level, regulators will be free to limit
the spectrum availability within their territory
to any portion of the 3300-4200 MHz range,
while benefiting from the economies of scale
deriving from the ecosystem that will be
developed for the whole range.
With reference to the bands that have been
identified for IMT within the ITU-R process,
Administrations may select the appropriate
frequency arrangement from the list available
in the latest version of Recommendation
ITU-R M.103616. This is currently being
reviewed and will be finalized by October
2018. Administrations may also decide to
implement other frequency arrangements to
fulfil their requirements, while accounting for
the need to protect other services. Figure 7,
page 15.
National decisions will not affect
harmonization of equipment which, being
based on TDD, can operate across the entire
range and adjust to those portions of the band
released for use in any given country.
16. Recommendation ITU-R M.1036-5: ‘Frequency arrangements for
implementation of the terrestrial component of International Mobile
Telecommunications (IMT) in the bands identified for IMT in the
Radio Regulations (RR)’
14
Figure 7: ITU-R REC M.1036 frequency arrangements for 3300-3700 MHz17
A single17TDD device could accommodate
different sub-ranges within the wider range,
thereby allowing countries to choose the
range that works best for them. The TDD plan
therefore provides flexibility so countries can
examine the 3300-4200 MHz band and pick
the parts that best fit their situation and meet
their national needs.
UEs supporting a certain frequency range
can operate within a portion of the range,
without emitting outside of it.
Equipment that is specified to operate over a
large band could present a risk of interference
if the entire band is not allocated to IMT. For
instance, the 3300-3400 MHz block is allocated
to radar in Europe but identified for IMT in
Africa, and conversely the 3600-3800 MHz
block is harmonised for IMT in Europe but
has important fixed satellite use in Africa and
other regions. In practice this risk is managed
as follows:
•• If the out of block limits for base stations
specified by 3GPP are not sufficient to
protect the incumbents in the parts of the
band not allocated to IMT, then additional
regulatory emission requirements could
17 . Latest version of Working Document towards a revision to ITU-R
REC M.1036 (June 2017).
©Copyright 2017 Global mobile Suppliers Association
be put in place by the national regulators.
Alternatively, guard bands or exclusion
zones could be introduced.
•• Mobile handsets do not radiate in the
absence of a broadcast signal from a base
station. The base stations will direct the
handsets to transmit in the frequencies
that have been authorised for mobile
in a specified area, outside of the block
that is reserved for other users, even if
both handsets and base stations have the
capability to transmit in the whole band.
GSA supports the adoption of the widest
arrangements (e.g. one single 3400-3800 MHz
band in Europe), as this would encourage the
development of one single homogeneous
ecosystem across the entire range of interest.
Regulators may need to plan specific actions
to address current spectrum fragmentation.
The ways of achieving this are expected to
vary from one country to another and might
include the following:
•• facilitating progressive migration from
paired to unpaired assignments, including
allowing and encouraging existing license
holders to swap their licenses;
15
•• defining appropriate auction rules so that
wide blocks of contiguous spectrum are
awarded to winners;

•• defining plans to relocate incumbents to

other frequency bands (FS/FSS) – sharing
solutions could also be considered in the
short term to avoid delays in the auctioning
process.

GSA supports assignment procedures based

on the use of 5 MHz lots giving more flexibility
to regulators in accounting for possible
constraints from incumbent use at national
level. This is consistent with the fact that the
minimum channel bandwidth for 5G-NR or
LTE Evolution is 5 or 10 MHz18.

As discussed in the following chapter, GSA

believes that it would be important to allow
operators access to contiguous unpaired
spectrum assignments in the order of 100
MHz or more. This is required for operators to
reap the full benefits of this frequency band
for 5G.

FREQUENCY ARRANGEMENTS FOR 3300-4200 MHz

The 3GPP is working on the 5G channel arrangements for 3300-4200 MHz: an important first
step toward the creation of a 5G ecosystem across the whole range.
It is clear that not all of the 3300-4200 MHz range will be available in any country in the
foreseeable future, and that the needs of current incumbent services such as Fixed Satellite
Service (FSS), Fixed Service (FS) and Radiolocation should be given careful consideration.
Regulators will decide which portions of spectrum will be made available at national level,
based on incumbent users as well as national priorities and strategies. It is also expected
that a given regulator may make different portions of the 3300-4200 MHz range available at
different times, incrementally building large contiguous blocks.
The GSA supports the availability of the largest possible contiguous frequency range for IMT
within the 3300-4200 MHz range at national level. As a consequence, many countries will
need to plan and carry out actions in order to address the current fragmentation of existing
assignments.

18 ECC PT1(17)070

©Copyright 2017 Global mobile Suppliers Association 16

 The importance of wide channel
bandwidth
By design, 5G-NR will optimally support
wideband operation, allowing operators
to take full advantage of larger allocations
of contiguous spectrum to increase peak
rates and user experience, with manageable
terminal complexity and minimal power
consumption (e.g. without requiring carrier
aggregation in case of New Radio). 5G-NR
specification will provide a full set of new
features that will support leveraging large
bandwidths in a different way compared
to latest releases of LTE Advanced Pro, thus
providing better average performance or
better capacity at equivalent bandwidth and
proportionally amplified by the use of large
channel bandwidth.
It is important to highlight that the key element
for successful deployment of massive MIMO
and active antennas is the availability of large
contiguous bandwidths, as this will enable
absolute gains from massive MIMO to support
new usages related to eMBB.
5G-NR on large bandwidths will reduce
terminal front end complexity and power
consumption, compared to LTE using multiple
5 to 20 MHz carrier aggregations to exploit a
similar large bandwidth.
Wideband carriers and flexibility in sub-carrier
spacing result in an efficient RF front-end for
Figure 8: Relationship between capacity and
latency, reliability, bandwidth.
©Copyright 2017 Global mobile Suppliers Association
NR, and in addition baseband processing with
improved power consumption per Mbit/s and
per MHz.
5G-NR on large bandwidths allows improved
access to ultra-reliable services by offsetting
mission critical capacity needs, and access to a
new generation of services by providing native
forward compatibility for straightforward
launches, with limited impact on legacy
services.
As shown in Figure 8, the new 5G design allows
for optimal trade-offs between capacity,
latency and reliability (e.g. leveraging wider
bandwidths to offset mission-critical capacity
reductions). Latency/capacity trade-off is
shown in the first graph of Figure 8. Efforts in
achieving lower latency (e.g. using a shorter
TTI) might have an impact to overall system
capacity as optimization is now occurring on
the way of communicating to cut down latency
(more ACK/NACK thus more overhead). Aslo
using shorter packets means that optimization
is not for capacity. To optimize for higher
reliability (second graph), there is also a trade-
off with capacity, e.g. to achieve lower BLER,
capacity might need to be sacrificed as well
(e.g., more retransmissions). But to offset this,
it would be possible to utilize wider bandwidth,
which will give the system more capacity (in
this case, showing a 3x capacity gain with 2x
bandwidth in the third graph).
17
LTE can use Carrier Aggregation to aggregate
multiple 20 MHz channels. However, as
described above, as the number of channels
to be aggregated increases, LTE will become
less efficient than a 5G-NR system designed
to inherently leverage wideband TDD
deployments and massive MIMO.
By delivering improved link budget and better
spectrum efficiency, 5G-NR will improve
peak and average data rates experienced in
similar channel bandwidths. Table 1 provides
theoretical 5G data rates per channel
bandwidth.
The 5G-NR will also bring the ability to
“multiplex” new forward compatible services
with limited impact on eMBB capacity needs,
and the ability to deliver simultaneous wireless
backhauling and front-hauling capabilities
to 5G-NR base station. A wide bandwidth
channel will significantly facilitate the use of
these capabilities and therefore contribute to
the faster introduction of new services.

Table 1: Theoretical 5G data rates per channel bandwidth

RF channel Bandwidth Peak data rates1 Average data rates2 5th percentile data rates3
40 MHz 1.2 Gbit/s 0.312 Gbit/s 9 Gbit/s
100 MHz 3 Gbit/s 0.78 Gbit/s 22.5 Gbit/s
200 MHz 6 Gbit/s 1.56 Gbit/s 45 Gbit/s
400 MHz 12 Gbit/s 3.12 Gbit/s 90 Gbit/s

Notes to table 1
1
Peak spectral efficiency (SE) of NR: 30 bit/s/Hz in DL (from draft New Report IMT-2020.TECH PERF REQ in ITU-R WP 5D). Peak
data rate in IMT-2020.TECH PERF REQ is 20 Gbit/s in DL (roughly equivalent to a total of 667 MHz with the considered SE).

2
Average spectrum efficiency (SE) of NR: 7.8 bit/s/Hz in DL for Dense Urban scenario (3 x SE of IMT-Advanced, also
considered in IMT-2020.TECH PERF REQ)

3
5th percentile SE of NR: 0.225 bit/s/Hz in DL for Dense Urban scenario (3 x SE of IMT-Advanced, also considered in IMT-
2020.TECH PERF REQ). User experience data rate in IMT-2020.TECH PERF REQ is 100 Mbit/s in DL (roughly equivalent to a
total of 444 MHz with the considered SE). Studies in ITU-R are still ongoing regarding these numbers also in the context of
the spectrum needs of IMT-2020 above 24 GHz.

WIDE CHANNEL BANDWIDTH

The 5G New Radio (5G-NR) is being designed to inherently take maximum advantage of
wideband channels to deliver improved spectral efficiency, higher capacity and improved
user experience. Wide contiguous spectrum assignments to operators in the order of 100
MHz or more will allow operators to reap the full benefits of the 3300-4200 MHz frequency
range for 5G.

©Copyright 2017 Global mobile Suppliers Association 18

 Access scheme: TDD based on the uplink channel estimation. This
can be advantageous for advanced multi-
TDD is recognized as the preferred duplex
antenna technologies, such as massive
method for 5G in 3300-4200 MHz. This is due
MIMO, to enhance the downlink transmission
to a number of reasons, described as follows:
capacity while minimizing interference.
The TDD mode exploits downlink/uplink
The TDD mode adapts better to possible
(DL/UL) flexibility to support increasing
incumbent users
traffic asymmetry
Portions of 3300-4200 MHz may be used in
Today, with the rapid development of
some geographic areas by incumbent systems
smartphones and their increasing usage,
such as FWA (Fixed Wireless Access systems, FS
mobile applications are increasingly
(Fixed Services), FSS (Fixed Satellite Services)
download-centric. Video downloads already
and Radars. Unpaired spectrum arrangement
represent a considerable portion of the overall
clearly has the advantage over a process that
data traffic across the networks, leading to
would include re-farming and pairing of new
4:1, 6:1 or even higher downlink to uplink
spectrum before an auction could take place.
asymmetry. In fact, some operators are facing
DL/UL ratios around and above 10:1. Duplexing mode in 5G-NR

TDD’s flexible and configurable uplink The 5G-NR radio interface supports paired and
to downlink ratio allows it to adapt to unpaired spectrum and strives to maximize
the required uplink/downlink traffic commonality between the technical solutions,
asymmetries in a spectrum efficient manner. allowing new enhancements and flexibility,
Figures 9 & 10. including but not limited to the following:

The TDD mode exploits channel reciprocity •• the use of different transmission directions
for effective massive MIMO implementation in either part of a paired spectrum;
Relying on uplink and downlink channel •• TDD operation on an unpaired spectrum
reciprocity (when the same portion of where the transmission direction of
spectrum is used in both link directions this
most time resources can be dynamically
is frequently the case), the base stations can
changing;
in some cases quickly and accurately obtain
the downlink Channel State Information (CSI)
Figure 9: Traffic asymmetry across major Figure 10: TDD ability to
operators globally - source: Huawei X-lab. address asymmetric traffic

©Copyright 2017 Global mobile Suppliers Association 19

•• DL and UL transmission directions, at least
for data, can be dynamically assigned on
a per-slot basis, at least in a TDM manner;
•• transmission directions include all of
downlink, uplink, and backhaul link.
The benefits of common synchronization
and alignment of UL/DL transmissions
among operators
When common synchronization and
UL/DL ratios are adopted between operators
in the same areas19, the TDD duplex allows
for maximum use of the valuable spectrum
resources, as no guard bands or duplex gaps
are required within the band. This is achieved
today for commercial TDD networks, for
example in China and Japan.
Synchronization for indoor operation can be
facilitated by using outdoor macro stations
to provide indoor coverage (solution used by
Softbank in Japan for example), or by using
small cells connected to the service provider
network via a broadband connection such as
DSL or cable. Another possibility would be to
use small cells for which the synchronization
is based on a GPS signal received from the
base station baseband unit (BBU).
If the networks are not synchronized, then
inter-operator base station to base station
interference using adjacent channels needs to
be taken into account, and proper measures
have to be employed, such as:
•• guard bands and/or restricted blocks (a
5  MHz guard band is commonly used in
commercial networks);
•• additional filter to be applied at IMT base
station transmitter;
•• site coordination between operators:
inter-site distance separation (for non-
co-located sites) and antenna separation
distances (for co-located sites);
•• reduction of the eNB output power.

Figure 11: Inter-operator interference mitigation techniques in the case of no common

synchronization between operators.

19. ECC Report 216 “Practical guidance for TDD networks

synchronisation” - August 2014

©Copyright 2017 Global mobile Suppliers Association 20

 The 3300-4200 MHz band can rely on a
growing LTE-TDD ecosystem and proven
field experience
Since their initial commercial launch in
2012, LTE-TDD systems have gained strong
commercial momentum. The TDD mode has
been deployed in many important markets,
including China, India, Japan, Saudi Arabia and
U.S.
This has pushed forward the development
of a strong and mature LTE-TDD ecosystem,
which now represents a solid basis for 5G in
LTE-TDD systems have typically been deployed
in higher frequency bands than the LTE-FDD
systems, today mainly in 2300 MHz (Band
40), 2600 MHz (Bands 38 and 41) and 3400-
3800 MHz (bands 42, and 43). There is now
considerable operational experience on the
LTE-TDD networks.
95 LTE-TDD networks offering commercial
services are available today20.
20. Source: ‘LTE Evolution report’ – GSA, January 2017.

3300-4200 MHz.

TDD MODE IN THE 3300-4200 MHz RANGE

GSA supports the Time Division Duplex (TDD) method for this frequency range, as the
unpaired frequency arrangement better accommodates existing assignments to other
services. TDD also has the advantage of supporting UL/DL traffic asymmetry, and will in some
cases provide an increased efficiency for massive MIMO technology by exploiting channel
reciprocity.
To fully benefit from the advantages from TDD, the GSA recommends adopting common
synchronization and alignment of UL/DL transmissions between operators, to avoid inter-
operator interference.

Recommendations towards effective assignments

The following is a summary of the GSA recommendations for the frequency arrangement and
for the way spectrum will be assigned to operators in the 3300-4200 MHz.

GSA RECOMMENDATIONS TOWARDS

EFFECTIVE FREQUENCY ASSIGNMENTS IN THE 3300-4200 MHZ RANGE
1. GSA supports the adoption of the widest possible arrangements within the 3300-4200
MHz range (Regulators may need to plan specific actions to address current spectrum
fragmentation);
2. GSA supports the TDD mode for this spectrum, adopting common synchronization and
alignment of UL/DL transmissions between operators;
3. GSA believes that it would be important to allow operators access to contiguous unpaired
nation-wide spectrum assignments in the order of 100 MHz or more;
4. GSA supports assignment procedures with channel raster based on 5 MHz lots.

©Copyright 2017 Global mobile Suppliers Association 21

MASSIVE MIMO
The exponential growth in the number of
mobile devices and significant increase in
consumption of wireless data are driving the
industry to investigate new technologies and
approaches to address this increased demand.
Predictions of mobile data from different
sources indicate a global compound annual
growth (CAGR) rate of approximately 42% in
the 2016-2022 time period21. The expected
mobile data growth will require upgrades of
the network capacity and performance, as
well as reduced network costs and a reduced
cost per delivered bit, to maintain profitability
for the operators.
Massive MIMO technology promises
significant gains in wireless data rates and
link reliability, by using a larger number of
2-dimensional arrays of active antennas at the
base station. The larger number of antenna
elements allows massive MIMO to focus
the energy only where it is needed, which
effectively reduces both interference and
Figure 12: Massive MIMO boosts downlink cell capacity in the 3300-4200 MHz range
with affordable complexity
21. Ericsson Mobility Report – June 2017
©Copyright 2017 Global mobile Suppliers Association
total emitted radio power. This is particularly
attractive in today’s interference-limited
cellular networks. Beamforming combined
with the spatial multiplexing of many users
allows a five times increase of the area spectral
efficiency.
The adoption of massive MIMO in the 3300-
4200 MHz band enables an increase of cell
downlink capacity with affordable complexity.
In Figure 12 on the left it can be seen how
the MU-MIMO (Multi-User MIMO) is able to
simultaneously serve multiple users with
the same spectrum in a cell-based on the
increased level of directional transmission
to separate users. In the middle of Figure 12
the graph shows the average cell downlink
throughput increase when using 100 MHz
channel bandwidth and 64T64R antenna, and
on the right the convenient 64T64R antenna
form factor, which makes the technology
affordable.
Furthermore, massive MIMO greatly
increases the single-user rates and meets the
22
increasing requirements of user experience
for different services. Since massive MIMO
uses more narrow beams than conventional
antennas, coverage can also be improved. As
demonstrated, there is a positive relationship
between MIMO and TDD.
From a downlink perspective, massive MIMO
allows 3300-4200 MHz base stations to re-
use existing macro sites (e.g. operating in the
1800 MHz band) at the same transmit power,
to obtain a significant throughput gain at the
cell edge.
Evolution towards 5G
Massive MIMO is being further developed in
5G: the 5G NR frame structure is shorter, and
this allows for reduced latency in the channel
estimation information and more robustness
against channel variability.
Massive MIMO in the field
Massive MIMO has been tested in commercial
networks and the performance gains have
Figure 13: China Mobile Communications Corporation (CMCC) massive MIMO cell downlink
peak throughput test – Shanghai. November 2016.
©Copyright 2017 Global mobile Suppliers Association
been outstanding. Massive MIMO has
proven to be very suitable for various typical
commercial scenarios, including capacity
improvements at urban hotspots, coverage
improvement for high buildings and outdoor
deployment of macro sites to improve indoor
coverage.
Peak data rate tests were conducted in 2017
in Shanghai22 using commercial smartphones
and a massive MIMO base station equipped
with 64 antenna elements; downlink peak
throughput reached 650 Mbit/s: 6 times
better than the current commercial base
station using 8 transceivers, which was used
as a reference. Figure 13.
The average downlink throughput in a
loaded network is also significantly improved
with massive MIMO. The cell throughput
increased more than 7 times compared to the
8-transceiver implementation. See Figure 14
on next page.
22 . www.telegeography.com/products/commsupdate/
articles/2016/11/09/china-mobile-huawei-deploy-wideband-
massive-mimo-site-on-live-network/
23
Figure 14: CMCC massive MIMO cell downlink average throughput test under interference
– Shanghai. November 2016.
Massive MIMO significantly improves network
coverage in high-rise residential areas, thanks
to better coverage in the vertical plane.
The world’s first 3400-3600 MHz massive MIMO
field tests were carried out with Softbank in
Japan in February 2017 demonstrating 1.4
Gbit/s with 16 layers massive MIMO and 2
Component Carriers (20MHz each) Carrier
Aggregation23.
Regulatory Implications
In the context of 5G-NR and 5G LTE Evolution,
3GPP is implementing changes to the way in
which unwanted emission masks are specified,
aiming at setting requirements that are
appropriate for the potentially large number
of antennas which are used in Active Antenna
Systems (AAS) supporting beamforming and
massive MIMO.
23. www.telegeography.com/products/commsupdate/
articles/2017/02/27/huawei-softbank-complete-test-of-3-5ghz-
massive-mimo-with-ca/
©Copyright 2017 Global mobile Suppliers Association
In the 3GPP Release 15 AAS specifications,
unwanted emissions will be specified as
an over-the-air (OTA) rather than as a
conducted requirement. In particular, the
OTA emission limits will be expressed in terms
of Total Radiated Power (TRP)24, rather than
Equivalent Isotropic Radiated Power (EIRP)25.
The motivation behind this choice is the fact
that the 3GPP studies26 have indicated that
the relevant metric which determines the
impact on adjacent mobile systems is the
total amount of interference injected into the
network (as quantified by TRP), rather than the
interference generated in any given direction
(as quantified by EIRP). See Figure 15, on next
page.
24 . The Total Radiated Power (TRP) is a measure of how much
power the device under test (DUT) actually radiates. The TRP
is defined as the integral of the power transmitted in different
directions over the entire radiation sphere.
25. The Equivalent Isotropic Radiated Power (EIRP) is the amount of
power that a perfectly isotropic antenna would need to radiate to
achieve the measured value.
26. R4-165899, ‘On modelling the spatial shape of ACLR’, Ericsson,
3GPP TSG-RAN WG4 #80 & R4-165896, ‘Metric for unwanted
emissions and ACLR’, Ericsson, 3GPP TSG-RAN WG4 #80
24
Figure 15: Regulatory approaches for non–AAS and AAS base stations.

To avoid undue constraints on the 3GPP regarding characteristics of advanced

implementation of the innovative massive
MIMO base stations, the regulatory
frameworks should embrace innovation
and account for the latest developments in
antenna systems, for instance concerning the
requirements on unwanted emissions.
Further coverage improvements through
low frequencies

The proximity of the 3300-4200 MHz

Figure 16: Coverage extension of 5G-NR
with low frequencies
range to existing bands used for mobile
provides potential for the reuse of existing
infrastructure, while delivering enhanced
capacity without incurring
network densification costs.

The available lower

frequencies (e.g. 1800, 800,
900, 700 MHz) may be used in
combination with 3300-4200
MHz 5G-NR connectivity to
provide additional coverage
improvement, facilitating the
reuse of existing sites.

MASSIVE MIMO
The proximity of the 3300-4200 MHz range to existing bands used for mobile provides
potential for the reuse of the existing infrastructure in areas where dense networks are
deployed, thus delivering enhanced capacity without incurring network densification costs.
The adoption of massive MIMO in the 3300-4200 MHz range will boost peak and average
downlink cell throughput with affordable complexity; the 64T64R massive MIMO technology
is commercially available and has been successfully tested in the 3400-3600 MHz band.
To avoid undue constraints on the implementation of the innovative massive MIMO base
stations, the regulatory frameworks should embrace innovation and account for the latest
developments in 3GPP regarding characteristics of advanced antenna systems, for instance
concerning the requirements on unwanted emissions.
The available lower frequencies may be used in combination with 3300-4200 MHz 5G-NR to
provide additional coverage improvement, facilitating the reuse of existing sites.

©Copyright 2017 Global mobile Suppliers Association 25

FROM STANDARDS TO COMMERCIAL enhancements to further increase spectral
AVAILABILITY efficiency, peak speeds and cell capacity such
as Beam Forming/Full-Dimension (MIMO),
The paths towards 5G
massive Carrier Aggregation (CA) and high
There are two paths that make up the 5G order modulation (256QAM); enhancements
radio access roadmap in 3GPP, as illustrated aiming at lower latency have also been
in the diagram below. One is based on the LTE introduced.
Evolution and the other on New Radio (5G-NR)
In the LTE Evolution path, enhancements will
access.
continue to enable it to support as many 5G
While the high frequencies (i.e. above 6 GHz) requirements and use cases as possible.
will be supported by the 5G-NR only, low 5G New Radio (5G-NR)
and medium frequencies (i.e. below 6 GHz),
including the 3300-4200 MHz range of course, The 5G-NR path is free from backward
compatibility requirements and thereby able
are supported by both LTE Evolution and 5G-
to introduce more fundamental changes,
NR: operators will choose the most suitable
such as targeting larger channel bandwidths.
path towards 5G. The 3GPP submission to
5G-NR is being designed in a flexible manner
ITU-R IMT-2020 will include both the LTE
with the ability to address all identified future
Evolution and 5G-NR air interfaces. Figure 17.
requirements and use cases.
LTE Evolution
3GPP Standardization timeline
3GPP continues to expand the LTE platform
There will be two phases for the normative
to new services, while improving its efficiency
work in 3GPP (Figure 17): the first release
to meet the increasing demand for mobile
of the 5G specification (Rel. 15) supporting
broadband; since October 2015, 3GPP has
the Non-Standalone (NSA) architecture for
used the term LTE-Advanced Pro to indicate
5G-NR deployment (using LTE as control
compliance to Rel-13 which also introduced
Figure 17: The 3GPP submission to ITU-R IMT-2020 will include both the LTE Evolution and
5G-NR air interfaces.

©Copyright 2017 Global mobile Suppliers Association 26

plane anchor) will be available in December
2017, while the Standalone (SA) architecture
(enabling the 5G-NR deployment with full
control plane capability for NR) will be
specified by June 2018. The second release of
the 5G specification (Rel. 16) will be completed
by December 2019 with the ability to address
all 5G use cases and requirements in time for
the ITU-R IMT-2020 submission.
The future of WiMAX is LTE and 5G
The WiMAX ecosystem (chipsets, end user
devices, equipment and standard) is now end
of life. Many WiMAX operators have already
started to replace their WiMAX equipment
with LTE-TDD, and GSA assesses all WiMAX
networks will be re-farmed over time.
Equipment availability
A broad range of 5G products will be available
in 3300-4200 MHz, in line with market demand:
both macro and small cell base stations, end
user equipment ranging from wireless routers
to smartphones, as well as wireless modules to
be integrated into a broader range of devices.
Chipset suppliers are fully committed to
supporting the 3300-4200 MHz range.
Although details on the exact implementation
are not yet available, it is clear that devices
will support the 3300-3800 MHz as well as
the 3600-4200 MHz range from the outset.
In broad terms, regulators will be able to
start making available any portion within the
3300-4200 MHz range, with the possibility of
expanding the spectrum availability over time,
without impacts on the existing devices.

GSA has recroded 2927 deployed LTE networks 5G trials and interoperability testing (both
in the 3400-3800 MHz range and several LTE Evolution and 5G-NR) in the 3300-4200
operators are committed to deploying LTE MHz range will start late in 2017. GSA expects
globally in 3GPP bands 42 and 43. commercial readiness of the 5G-NR ecosystem
in 2018, targeting broader commercialization
The GSA devices database (GAMBoD) from 2019.
has itentified 118 devices, including
smartphones28, which are commercially
available in the 3400-3600 MHz band (3GPP
band 42), and 93 devices are commercially
available in the 3600-3800 MHz band (3GPP
band 43)29.

FROM STANDARDS TO COMMERCIAL AVAILABILITY

There are two paths leading to 5G: the LTE Evolution and the 5G New Radio (5G-NR) access
which will have the capacity to address all identified requirements and usage scenarios.
LTE-TDD networks and devices (including smartphones) are commercially available; the
first 5G trials in various portions of the 3300-4200 MHz range will start at the end of 2017.
GSA expects commercial readiness of the 5G-NR ecosystem in 2018, targeting broader
commercialization from 2019

27. GSA “Evolution from LTE to 5G Report” – April ‘17

28. Samsung S8 smartphone supporting 3400-3600 MHz band for
the Japanese market: www.frequencycheck.com/models/AabYB/
samsung-sm-g950f-galaxy-s8-td-lte-samsung-dream
29 . Source: GSA GAMBoD database, April 2017.

©Copyright 2017 Global mobile Suppliers Association 27

SHARING vs. CLEARING availability of the 3400/3600-3800 MHz or
3800-4200 MHz spectrum on a shared basis,
Introduction of IMT systems into the 3300-
whereas the second considers the gains of
4200 MHz frequency range, or increasing
introducing 5G in general through evaluation
the density of IMT equipment in the range,
of the economic impact on four verticals
requires methods for avoiding interference
(automotive, health, transport and utilities)
between IMT equipment and the incumbents.
as well as indirect benefits to society, e.g.
There are different ways of resolving this. The
enhanced productivity, reduced pollution
3300-4200 MHz range or parts thereof may be
and enhanced security. In both these studies
cleared for IMT usage, if incumbents can be
considerably gains are observed.
phased out or relocated to other frequency
bands. Alternatively, IMT and other services Incumbent usage
may co-exist, depending on the deployment
Incumbent usage is a key element in the
density of such services, availability of
process towards new or additional IMT
mitigation techniques, etc.
deployment in a frequency band. See Annex
It is further noted that the co-existence D: Incumbent Usage (Non IMT) for detailed
solutions may be relevant also for transitional information on incumbents. For the 3300-
periods during clearance of, or part 4200 MHz band, the services listed in the
clearance of, the 3300-4200 MHz range, while Radio Regulations are presented in Table 230.
incumbents are phased out or relocated to For the sake of clarity secondary services and
another frequency band. Similarly, sharing footnotes have been omitted.
solutions may be applicable if a regulator
Based on this information, compatibility
decides to retain a few incumbent stations (e.g.
studies should focus on the following services
FSS earth stations) for a longer period of time,
and frequency bands, including adjacent band
for instance in rural areas where interference
interference towards altimeters (Aeronautical
issues may be handled more easily.
Radio navigation):
These matters have been investigated in a
•• Radiolocation: 3300-3400 MHz
number of studies, and an overview of results
is provided in the next section. •• Fixed: 3400-4200 MHz

Socio-economic benefits from IMT use in •• Fixed Satellite: 3400-4200 MHz

3300-4200 MHz
•• Aeronautical Radio navigation: 4200-4400
The overall benefits to society as a whole – MHz
governments, enterprises and consumers –
should be taken into account when decisions
are made regarding spectrum usage.

In Annex C: Socio-Economic Sudies results are

presented from studies carried out by GSA
companies/Plum consultants, and a socio-
economic study performed for the European
Commission. The first study quantifies the
30. Noting further the footnotes that provide primary mobile
allocations in 3300-3400 MHz (5.429, 5.429A, 5.429C, 5.429E), in
3400-3500 MHz (5.432, 5.432B) as well as identifications for IMT in
3300-3400 MHz (5.429B, 5.429D, 5.429F), 3400-3500 MHz (5.432A),

financial gains that would derive from early 3400-3600 MHz (5.430A, 5.431B), 3500-3600 MHz (5.433A) and 3600-
3700 MHz (5.434).

©Copyright 2017 Global mobile Suppliers Association 28

Table 2: ITU-R Radio Regulations (primary service allocations).

Allocation to services
Region 1 Region 2 Region 3
3100-3300 RADIOLOCATION
3300-3400 3300-3400 3300-3400

RADIOLOCATION RADIOLOCATION RADIOLOCATION

3400-3600 3400-3500 3400-3500

FIXED FIXED FIXED

FIXED-SATELLITE FIXED-SATELLITE (space-to-Earth) FIXED-SATELLITE (space-to-Earth)

(space-to-Earth) MOBILE except aeronautical mobile
MOBILE except aeronautical mobile 3500-3600 3500-3600

FIXED FIXED

FIXED-SATELLITE (space-to-Earth) FIXED-SATELLITE (space-to-Earth)

MOBILE except aeronautical mobile MOBILE except aeronautical mobile

3600-4200 3600-3700 3600-3700

FIXED FIXED FIXED

FIXED-SATELLITE FIXED-SATELLITE (space-to-Earth) FIXED-SATELLITE (space-to-Earth)

(space-to-Earth) MOBILE except aeronautical MOBILE except aeronautical mobile
3700-4200

FIXED

FIXED-SATELLITE (space-to-Earth)

MOBILE except aeronautical mobile

4200-4400 AERONAUTICAL MOBILE (R)

AERONAUTICAL RADIO NAVIGATION

Fixed Satellite Service (FSS)

The Fixed Satellite Service31 (FSS) is used globally
in 3400-4200 MHz, with considerable variation
in earth station density. This frequency
range is more widely used in some areas
such as Africa, Asia and America due to the
better performance during severe rain fade
conditions compared to higher frequencies,
whereas in regions such as Europe where
other frequency ranges are viable it is less
used. In addition, the characteristics of earth
stations vary substantially depending on their
intended usage.
31. Report and Order and Second Further Notice of Proposed
Rulemaking, document GN Docket 12-354, FCC, Washington, DC,
USA, April 21, 2015.
FSS usage varies also within 3400-4200 MHz.
For instance, 3625-4200 MHz is extensively
used in all regions of the world, except parts
of Europe and Asia. 3400-3625 MHz is heavily
used in most parts of ITU Region 1 (except
parts of Europe) and Region 3 (except some
countries in Asia).
Fixed Service (FS)
Usage of fixed service in the 3400-4200 MHz
frequency range also varies considerably
between countries. For instance, in the U.S.
the deployment has been limited due to the
strict coordination requirements with FSS,
whereas in some European countries the

©Copyright 2017 Global mobile Suppliers Association 29

number of point-to-point (P-P) and point-to-
multipoint (P-MP) links can be quite large.
Radar
3300-3400 MHz has been harmonised by
NATO for military use, and the 3550-3650 MHz
band is allocated to the Radiolocation Service
(RLS) and the Aeronautical Radionavigation
Service (ARNS) (ground-based) on a primary
basis for federal use in the U.S.
Altimeters 32
The 4200-4400 MHz band is reserved
exclusively for radio altimeters installed on
aircraft and the associated transponders on
the ground, on a global basis. Radio signals
transmitted in this band are used to determine
the distance to the surface. The altimeters are
used both on military and civilian aircrafts.
Compatibility analysis
Compatibility between IMT and other services
in the 3300-4200 MHz has been studied in
the context of the 2007 and 2015 World
Radio Conferences and in regional regulatory
groups. This section contains a summary of
some of the available results for co-channel
and adjacent channel compatibility.
Fixed Satellite Service (FSS)
FSS earth stations in the 3300-4200 MHz range
may have quite different characteristics, where
the most important for compatibility analysis
are whether the locations of the earth stations
are known, and the deployment density.
Usually a heavier density of earth stations is
also associated with unknown locations, as this
usage normally corresponds to reception of
broadcast television. Both of these scenarios
are considered in the following paragraphs.
32. https://www.ntia.doc.gov/files/ntia/publications/
compendium/4200.00-4400.00_01MAR14.pdf
©Copyright 2017 Global mobile Suppliers Association
Sharing with FSS Earth Stations at known
locations
This sharing scenario has been analysed for
LTE-A mobile services in several ITU-R studies,
for instance for the 2007 and 2015 World Radio
Conferences, as well as in regional regulatory
groups.33,34,35
Separation distances for co-channel
compatibility can be tens of kilometres or
more, where the main elements influencing
distances are the inclusion of mitigation
techniques or not, earth station antenna
angle relative the horizon, base station
power and position and the assumptions
on clutter and terrain model. For adjacent
channel compatibility, the separation
distance is typically in the order of a few
kilometres. Concerning interference from
terminals, their lower power implies that a
separation distance preventing interference
from a base station to earth station will also
prevent interference from terminals to earth
stations. The studies referenced above do not
contain analysis based on base stations with
massive MIMO. Such technology may enable
efficient mitigation techniques by avoiding
transmissions in the direction of the interfered
receiver.
The results further show that the required
separation distances are quite sensitive
to a number of parameters and scenario
assumptions, such as the earth station
antenna angle relative to the horizon, terrain
model and clutter surrounding the earth
station, placement and output power of
the interfering base station, earth station
shielding possibilities etc. It is thus not
possible to provide a separation distance
33. ITU-R Report M.2109
34 . ITU-R Report S.2199
35 . ITU-R Report S.2368
30
or guard band that is appropriate for all
deployment scenarios of IMT networks and
FSS earth stations. Coordination on a case-by-
case basis is necessary.
The feasibility of sharing in a country or region
will consequently depend on the density of
earth stations, and their placement relative
to densely populated areas. A large number
of earth stations in a country or region will in
all likelihood prevent meaningful deployment
of IMT networks, whereas a limited number
of earth stations may allow substantial IMT
deployments, in particular if these few earth
stations are located in rural areas or can be
re-located there.
Measures to ensure efficient sharing between
IMT and both FSS and FS have been further
studied in ECC Report 254, “Operational
guidelines for spectrum sharing to support
the implementation of the current ECC
framework in the 3600-3800 MHz range”. The
report defines a toolbox of options from which
Administrations will be able to choose based on
national circumstances. Two approaches are
defined. The first is to specify the maximum
permitted interference powers or electric field
strengths at the FS/FSS receivers, and give full
flexibility to the mobile operators to comply
with the specified limits. The second is to
specify explicit restrictions on the frequency,
geographic location or equivalent isotropic
radiated power (EIRP) levels, or a combination
thereof, for the mobile deployments. The
Application of an licensed shared access (LSA)
framework for the protection of incumbent FS
and FSS services is also described. Although
the ECC report itself is limited to 3600-3800
MHz, the guidance is not frequency specific,
except for minor differences due to variations
in propagation characteristics.
©Copyright 2017 Global mobile Suppliers Association
Sharing with non – registered Earth Stations
(VSAT)
In some cases the locations of earth stations
are unknown, e.g. for Very Small Aperture
Terminals (VSAT), exempted from individual
registration and used for reception of broadcast
television. These may not be protected from
interference from other systems, but when
they are it prevents deployment of mobile
systems in the same geographical area, as it
is not possible to guarantee sufficiently low
interference with no knowledge of the earth
stations location.
It is however not necessary to know the
position of each individual earth station
to prevent excessive interference. If earth
station deployment is restricted to a particular
area, the deployment of mobile stations may
be separated from that area by a sufficient
distance. Figure 18 on the next page shows an
example where the IMT network is deployed in
an urban area, whereas the FSS earth station
is located in a rural area at a safe distance
from the IMT deployment. Such a scenario
has been studied in a field trial in Rome36, 37
where the separation distance for co-channel
sharing between the IMT deployment and
the area with VSAT receivers was found to be
between 1.2 and 3.8 km38.
36. This test is part of a number of activities that the Italian
administration, supported by the Fondazione Ugo Bordoni, is
carrying out to explore the potential behind spectrum sharing for
various services and frequency bands.
37. Test report available at: http://plumconsulting.co.uk/
compatibility-lte-services-vsat-receivers/
38. Measurements of interference were carried out under strictly
controlled conditions in specific environments, and thus may thus
not apply to all scenarios. Under the circumstances given, the
separation distances for co-frequency sharing were determined
to be in the range between 1.2 km and 3.8 km. For a frequency
offset of 28 MHz a significant improvement was obtained. The
characteristics of VSAT equipment – selectivity and overload –
whereas further studied by laboratory measurements, indicating a
relatively small variation in selectivity between different receivers.
31
Figure 18: Geographic separation between IMT (in urban areas) and FSS (in rural areas).

Fixed Service (FS) will thus become available from these ITU-R
studies during the current study period. It
Interference from LTE-Advanced base stations
is known, however, from other studies of
and terminals into FS receivers has been
LTE-Advanced - Radar compatibility, that
studied in e.g. ITU-R Report 2328 in the context
separation distances can be considerable,
of WRC-15. Similar to the sharing studies for
in the order of hundreds of kilometres
FSS, the results vary considerably depending
for a worst-case co-channel compatibility
on the scenario chosen. It is important to note
without mitigation techniques or terrain/
that longer distances correspond to scenarios
clutter protection. In the case where there is
where interfering and interfered antennas
sufficient frequency separation to enable roll-
point directly towards each other, and are
off of IMT filters and good selectivity of radars,
consequently avoidable by network planning
the separation distance may be reduced to a
when information on the fixed service
few kilometres. As for compatibility with FSS,
receivers are available, and as long as they are
deployment of AAS technology may enable
limited in number. In conclusion, separation
additional mitigation possibilities.
distances and guard bands vary from one
case to another, and compatibility should be Altimeters
considered on a case-by-case basis.
At this point in time no ITU-R or regional
Radar studies are available. Studies will be necessary,
in particular considering the safety-of-life
As radiolocation has a primary location in
aspect of this service.
3100-3300 MHz and 3300-3400 MHz in all three
Regions, both co-channel and adjacent band
compatibility needs to be studied. Currently
work is on-going in ITU-R to study operational
measures to enable the coexistence of IMT
and the radiolocation service in the frequency
band 3300-3400 MHz, as requested by WRC-
15 in Resolution 223. Additional information

©Copyright 2017 Global mobile Suppliers Association 32

 An example of sharing: CBRS in 3550 –
3700 MHz
In April 2015, the Federal Communications
Commission (FCC) adopted rules39,40 for
commercial use of the 3550-3700 MHz band
using a new Citizens Broadband Radio Service
(CBRS). The FCC adopted a three-tiered
sharing framework enabled by a Spectrum
Access System (SAS) as shown in Figure 19.
Incumbent users, for instance radar and FSS,
represent the highest tier in this framework
and are entitled to interference protection
from CBRS users. The CBRS itself consists of
two tiers, Priority Access Licenses (PAL) and
General Authorized Access (GAA), where PAL
Figure 19: : FCC’s 3550-3700 MHz 3-tier Spectrum Sharing Framework.
users are protected from interference of GAA
operation, but not vice versa.
Independently of this methodology, spectrum
efficiency is increased by relying on the
FSS earth stations’ actual operational and
technical parameters, thus avoiding the
overprotection that could result from a
purely theoretical analysis. Protection zone
calculations further take into other important
details of propagation, terrain, etc.
39. “Report and Order and Second Further Notice of Proposed
Rulemaking”, document GN Docket 12-354, FCC, Washington, DC, USA,
21 April 2015.
40. “Order on Reconsideration and Second Report and Order”, document
GN Docket No. 12-354, FCC, Washington, DC, USA, 2 May 2016.
©Copyright 2017 Global mobile Suppliers Association
Whereas CBRS enables usage of spectrum
in which incumbents will remain and need
protection, GSA notes that there may
be reasons to consider other solutions,
depending on local circumstances. In
particular, national licenses may be preferable
where efficient roll-out for coverage and QoS
guarantees are an objective. In addition, a two-
tier sharing framework with less complexity
may be sufficient for spectrum intended for
coverage/QoS purposes. An alternative to the
CBRS methodology described above is the
Licensed Shared Access (LSA) and its evolution.
Sharing vs. Clearing: key takeaways
Solutions for incumbents are important for
the progress of deployment of IMT in the
3300-4200 MHz range. Depending on the
local situation, type of incumbent and the
associated deployment density, regulators
may consider either spectrum clearing or
sharing, or a combination of the two.
Table 3 contains the solutions for IMT
deployment favoured by GSA, noting that
the considerable variation in scenarios of
different countries and regions implies that
evaluation needs to be carried out on a case-
by-case basis.
33
Table 3: Sharing vs. Clearing

Sharing is difficult when earth stations are densely deployed, clearing the band
and/or relocation is necessary.
FSS earth stations
Possibilities for sharing exist where there are few earth stations deployed, in
Known locations
particular if they are located in rural areas and/or can be shielded. Some FSS
earth stations may need to be re-located.

Sharing is not possible in the same geographical area if the earth stations are
FSS earth stations protected.

Individual locations unknown When FSS earth stations are deployed in specific areas, sharing may be possible
by geographical separation, otherwise clearing is necessary.

In case of dense deployment clearing may be necessary.

FS If there are few fixed links, they may either be shifted into another frequency
band, or, on a case-by-case basis, be coordinated with the IMT deployment.

Altimeters Further analysis is necessary.

For the 3550-3700 MHz CBRS band, interference free operation of radars is
provided on a national basis by a Spectrum Access System (SAS) solution.

For the 3300-3400 MHz frequency band, further analysis is necessary. Studies for
Radars other frequency bands indicate that co-channel usage requires large separation
distances, whereas adjacent channel compatibility, with some guard band,
enables distances of a few kilometres. It is not expected that IMT and radars will
be deployed in the same country, or at least not in the same geographic region.

Clearing of the bands to be used by IMT will
enable maximum efficiency and flexibility.
Sharing analysis should take into account
actual characteristics of IMT transmitters and
the receivers of the interfered service, as well
as mitigation techniques and clutter/terrain.
Massive MIMO technology may enable more
efficient protection of incumbents by avoiding
transmissions in the direction of the interfered
receivers.
In case of a need for flexible coordination
between IMT and incumbents, in a transition
phase or to protect a limited number of
stations, a License Shared Access approach
or similar should be considered. This may
enable a roll-out on a national basis while
protecting certain locations or areas to
guarantee interference free operation of
remaining incumbent stations.

SHARING vs. CLEARING

Possibilities for sharing between 5G and other services should be taken into consideration.
As a general recommendation, GSA advocates clearing the bands to be used by 5G, to enable
maximum efficiency and coverage of 5G deployments, especially considering the separation
distances required between 5G and e.g. FSS earth stations. Nevertheless, in some instances
sharing may be possible, for example where the incumbent stations are few and located in
areas where appropriate protection can be provided.

©Copyright 2017 Global mobile Suppliers Association 34

ANNEX A: ITU-R IMT IDENTIFICATIONS IN
THE 3300-4200 MHZ RANGE
The following text provides the list of countries
that, as a result of previous WRCs, have
identified for IMT portions of spectrum in the
3300-3700 MHz range.
3300 – 3400 MHz: broad multi-country IMT
identification (first time): 45 countries from
3 regions (33 in Africa, 6 in LATAM, 6 in
APAC)
•• Region 1 (Africa): Angola, Benin, Botswana,
Burkina Faso, Burundi, Cameroon, Congo
(Rep. of the), Côte d’Ivoire, Egypt, Ghana,
Guinea, Guinea-Bissau, Kenya, Lesotho,
Liberia, Malawi, Mauritania, Mozambique,
Namibia, Niger, Nigeria, Uganda, the Dem.
Rep. of the Congo, Rwanda, Sudan, South
Sudan, South Africa, Swaziland, Tanzania,
Chad, Togo, Zambia and Zimbabwe
•• Region 2: Argentina, Colombia, Costa Rica,
Ecuador, Mexico, Uruguay
•• Region 3: Cambodia, India, Lao P.D.R.,
Pakistan, Philippines, Vietnam
Figure A1: Population addressed by MOBILE primary allocations and IMT identifications in the 3300-3400,
3400-3600, 3600-3700 MHz bands globally – as a result of the ITU-R WRC-15.
©Copyright 2017 Global mobile Suppliers Association
3400 – 3600 MHz: nearly global IMT
identification: 165 countries
•• Region 1: whole Region – new countries:
6 in the Arab Spectrum Management
Group (ASMG) + 19 in the African
Telecommunications Union (ATU) + 4 in
common between ASMG and ATU – and
2 in the European Conference of Postal
and Telecommunications Administrations
(CEPT) + 5 in the Regional Commonwealth
in the Field of Communications (RCC) + 3 in
common between CEPT and RCC
•• Region 2: whole Region, all new
identifications
•• Region 3: 2 new countries, 11 countries in
total: Australia (new), Bangladesh, China,
India, Iran, Japan, Korea, New Zealand,
Pakistan, Philippines (new), Singapore
3600 – 3700 MHz: multi-country IMT
identification
•• Region 2: Canada, Colombia, Costa Rica,
USA
See Figure A1 for more detail.
35
ANNEX B: REGIONAL AND NATIONAL INITIATIVES

3400-3800 MHz

Europe
3400-3800 MHz is the 5G primary band in Europe

In the European Commission mandate  (1) on 5G to the CEPT, it is noted that the 3400-3800 MHz frequency
range is the prime spectrum suitable for the introduction of 5G-based services across the European Union,
even before 2020, given that this spectrum is already harmonized for the CEPT countries (2) for mobile networks
(IMT-Advanced) and offers wide channel bandwidth. CEPT is now working to revise and amend the existing
harmonized technical conditions for this range to ensure suitability for 5G terrestrial wireless systems. The work
will be completed by June 2018.

CEPT is also working on guidelines to help Administrations ensuring availability of the largest contiguous blocks,
starting from the current fragmented situation for which smaller blocks have been assigned to different services
and operators, sometimes at regional and local levels.

The European Commission recently published its 5G Action Plan proposing a harmonized roadmap towards 5G
across the European Union: trials from 2018, initial commercial launches in 2020 (in at least one city per country)
with wider coverage expected in all major cities and communication paths by 2025. We expect all initial launches
across Europe to be based on 3400-3800 MHz.
Finland May 2017: Minister of Transport and Communications indicated that the 3400-3800 MHz could
be available for 5G in 2019. The auction is possible in 2018.
France March 2017: ARCEP requested views from the industry on the release of new bands for mobile
broadband (including bands for TDD and SDL) and for 5G in particular.

Germany December 2016: BNetZa published its Points of Orientation  (3). Regarding the 3400-3800 MHz
band, indicating that the current rights of use in the band are set to expire in December 2021
and 2022 and a total of 400  MHz will be made available in an objective, transparent and non
discriminatory procedure.
Ireland May 2017: ComReg announced  (4) the results of the 3400-3800 MHz band auction, 350 MHz
assigned with regional licenses (four rural and five urban) and assigned on a contiguous basis.
The Auction resulted in five Winning Bidders.
Italy March 2017: the Ministry for Economic Development (MISE) (5) announced its call for proposals
for 5G trials in 5 cities across Italy, to be started from January 2018. The selected projects will rely
on 100 MHz in the 3700-3800 MHz range. Auction in the 3600-3800 MHz range is being planned
and the de-fragmentation of the assignments in the 3400-3600 MHz range is being discussed.
In preparation for the assignment procedures, the Italian Administration has involved IMT
technology suppliers and incumbent users (including FSS and FS operators) in field test activities
to assess the sharing opportunities with commercial LTE-TDD equipment operating in the 3600-
3800 MHz range. Italian regulator AGCOM is currently undergoing a public consultation on 5G
which also deals with the future use of 3400-3800 MHz for 5G.
Russian The operator Megafon intends to run a 5G network in 2018 (in time for the FIFA World Cup).
Federation
Sweden Sweden’s Telia Company is conducting field trials in the Stockholm area and plans to bring 5G
experience to customers in Stockholm and Tallinn in 2018.
Switzerland June 2017: the Federal Office of Communications (Ofcom) has launched a public consultation
regarding the allocation of new mobile radio spectrum due to become available from 2019.
Among other bands, the consultation paper covers spectrum in the 3400-3800 MHz range.

©Copyright 2017 Global mobile Suppliers Association 36

United October 2016: Ofcom issued the public consultation ‘Improving consumer access to mobile
Kingdom services at 3.6 to 3.8 GHz’ where the regulator presented its initial thinking on how the spectrum
access for mobile services could be expanded in the 3.6 – 3.8 GHz band.

November 2016: Ofcom (6) issued the proposed Regulations for the award by auction of radio
spectrum licences in the 2.3 and 3.4 GHz bands: 150 MHz of spectrum in the 3400-3600 MHz
band in 2017. Ofcom is also expanding mobile access in 3600-3800 MHz, including preparation
for awarding the band by 2H 2017/18, subject to consultation.

Sub Saharan Africa

The 3400-3600 MHz band is already broadly identified for IMT in African countries, although its predominant
use today is fixed wireless services. Countries are in the process of transitioning regulations to allow mobile use.
Nigeria The 3400-3518 MHz portion is identified for 4G LTE. It is currently licensed on a regional basis and
used for FWA, however some licensees are planning the deployment of 4G mobile.
South Africa The country started the process in 2014 and the new frequency assignment plan – which limits
the band to IMT services using a TDD band plan – came into force in April 2017.

Middle East and North Africa

The future use of the 3400-3600 MHz range for 5G as well as the possible use of the 3600-3800 MHz range is
now being considered by several countries in the Middle East and North Africa. To the extent of the available
knowledge, the 3400-3800 MHz range has been used for WiMAX and then often refarmed to LTE in several
countries from the region but now countries like Bahrain, Egypt, Saudi Arabia, Morocco, Qatar and UAE are
considering the band for 5G. ASMG has developed during its meeting in April 2017 a questionnaire to Arab
Administrations to assess the usage of this frequency range in the Arab region and to decide on the use of this
band for 5G. Responses to the questionnaire are expected on the 30th of July 2017.

Americas
Canada 2004 – 2005: 175 MHz of FWA spectrum in the 3475-3650 MHz range were auctioned in three
paired blocks of 2x25 MHz each as well as a stand-alone 25 MHz block. More recently, Canada
also allowed both fixed and mobile Wireless Broadband Services (WBS) in the 3650–3700 MHz
Band on a lightly licensed basis with some coexistence requirements. Canada is expected to issue
a new consultation in the near future studying existing use and potential use of 3400-3800 MHz
in light of recent developments globally in relation with the 3400-3600 MHz range which could
change the current Canadian framework.
USA At present, 3550-3700 MHz has been allocated for spectrum sharing under a 3-tier construct;
Incumbent Users, Priority Access License (PAL) users and General Authorized Access (GAA)
systems. Access to the spectrum is managed by a Spectrum Access System (SAS). Commercial
deployments of GAA systems are expected in late 2017 / at the beginning of 2018, and competitive
bidding for PAL licenses in the 3550-3650 MHz range is expected within H2 of 2018.
LATAM At the 28th CITEL PCC.II meeting one proposal of frequency arrangements for the 3300-3700 MHz
band was submitted by the coordinator of the ad hoc group, the contribution document proposed
the whole 3300-3700 MHz range as IMT with TDD mode taking into account the benefits that the
global harmonization and the potential economies of scale.

Previously Colombia, Ecuador, Canada and Brazil presented similar proposal for different ranges
but in the same sense to leverage the global IMT harmonization.

In conclusion a number of major Region 2 countries have now announced their intention to make
available the 3300-3700 MHz band for IMT.

©Copyright 2017 Global mobile Suppliers Association 37

Asia Pacific
Australia 3425-3575 MHz has already been released and allocated to IMT in Australia. The regulator (ACMA)
is currently working to release the second discussion paper at the end of June 2017 as required for
Preliminary re-planning stage. An indicated timeline for re-farming which is for rearrangements
of current incumbent services, is by end of 2017. The spectrum auction of 3575-3700 MHz band
and 3700-3800 MHz band for IMT is anticipated in 2018. ), 5G trials are planned (3400-3600 MHz).
China The IMT-2020 Promotion Group of China is carrying out 5G technology trials in various cities in
China involving various operators and equipment suppliers.

June 2017: MIIT released a new consultation seeking inputs/comments on the use of 3300-3600
MHz for 5G, deadline for submission of comments in July 2017
Hong Kong In 2017 Hong Kong will consult on the 3400-3700 MHz band with a view to reallocating it to IMT.
India India is in the process of updating the NFAT to include identification of 3300-3600 MHz for IMT,
which will complete in 2017
Iran The Communications Regulatory Authority of Iran is planning on holding a tender in 2017 for the
3400-3600 MHz band. The regulator wishes to promote competition in the telecommunications
sector through this assignment.
Japan December 2014: the 3420-3600 MHz range was assigned by Japan’s Ministry of Internal Affairs
and Communications (MIC) to NTT DoCoMo, KDDI and SBM (40MHz assigned to each operator)
with provision requiring common synchronization among operators. Commercial services in part
of the 3400-3600 band have been launched using LTE-TDD.

May 2017: MIC announced (7) the start of 5G field trials: the four mobile operators (NTT DoCoMo,
KDDI, SBM), one fixed network operator (NTT Communications) and two national research
institutes (ATR and NICT) will carry out 5G field trials relying on spectrum in the 3600-4200 MHz
range, as well as in the 4400-4900 MHz and the 27.5-29.5 GHz range. Trials will address six usage
cases exploiting the eMBB, Ultra Reliable Low Latency Communications (URLLC) and mMTC
scenarios: high-definition video content distribution (for wide area surveillance and remote
e-health), remote real-time control of construction machinery, truck platooning, remote control
of vehicles, high-definition video distribution for high-speed railway and buses, simultaneous
delivery of free viewpoint images/video at stadium, logistics management, smart office and
teleworking.
Republic of The Republic of Korea plans to auction 3400-3700 MHz in 2018 or 2019
Korea
Singapore Singapore is consulting on the 3400-3600 MHz band also with a view to allocating it for IMT use.

©Copyright 2017 Global mobile Suppliers Association 38

3300-3400 MHz

Sub Sahara Africa

Several African Administrations are in the process of updating their National Frequency Allocation Tables
(NFATs) to identify 3300-3400 MHz for IMT.
South The SADC  (8) has already proposed a common allocation for IMT, and it is expected that the
Africa SADC member states will soon do the same with their national plans. South Africa in particular
presented a draft update of its National Radio Frequency Plan in December 2016, which includes
the identification for IMT.

Latin America
As mentioned above, various proposals were submitted in CITEL proposing the whole 3300-3700 MHz for IMT
use, proponents include Brazil, Canada, Colombia and Ecuador.
Mexico The 3300-3400 MHz band was identified for IMT in Mexico as a result of the WRC-15

Asia Pacific
China Operators considering 3300-3600 MHz for 5G.

June 2017: MIIT released a new consultation seeking inputs/comments on the use of 3300-3600
MHz for 5G, deadline for submission of comments in July 2017.
India India is in the process of updating the NFAT to include identification of 3300-3600 MHz for IMT.

3800-4200 MHz

Europe
United June 2016: Ofcom issued the call for input ‘3.8 GHz to 4.2 GHz band: opportunities for Innovation’, a
Kingdom new consultation is expected in the first half of 2018.
Americas
USA Further studies were recently proposed for a number of bands, including 3100-3550 MHz and 3700-
4200 MHz (in addition to 3550-3700 MHz already being opened for mobile use):

In the U.S. Dept. of Commerce, the National Telecommunications and Information Administration
(NTIA) report on Quantitative Assessments of Spectrum Usage, November 2016, the agency
concluded that the 3100-3550 MHz band could be examined more closely to determine if it can
be used by commercial providers. However, the NTIA also acknowledges the band’s heavy use. No
follow-up actions by the NTIA or the FCC have been proposed to-date.

The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) is considering a possible proceeding in 2017 with
respect to 3700-4200 MHz, pursuant to a request for rulemaking to modify its rules to promote
the more effective and efficient use of spectrum shared by operators of Fixed Services (FS) and
Fixed Satellite Services (FSS). The release of an notice of inquiry or notice of proposed rulemaking
is being considered. New (mobile/fixed) entrants to the band would likely share the band with its
incumbents. When added to the existing 150 MHz at 3550-3700 MHz, there will be a total of 650 MHz
of spectrum available in this range in the USA.
Asia Pacific
Japan May 2017: MIC announced (9) the start of 5G field trials: the four mobile operators (NTT DoCoMo,
KDDI, SBM), one fixed network operator (NTT Communications) and two national research institutes
(ATR and NICT) will carry out 5G field trials relying on spectrum in the 3600-4200 MHz range.

©Copyright 2017 Global mobile Suppliers Association 39

Footnotes
1. RSCOM16-40rev3: Mandate to CEPT to develop harmonised technical conditions for spectrum use in support of the
introduction of next-generation (5G) terrestrial wireless systems in the Union.
2. Conditions for the use of the whole 3400-3800 MHz range by IMT-A have been harmonized across CEPT countries since
2011 (ECC Decision (11)06 ‘Harmonised frequency arrangements for mobile/fixed communications networks (MFCN) operating
in the bands 3400-3600 MHz and 3600-3800 MHz’; COMMISSION IMPLEMENTING DECISION 2014/276/EU (May 2014) ‘on
amending Decision 2008/411/EC on the harmonisation of the 3400-3800 MHz frequency band for terrestrial systems capable
of providing electronic communications services in the Community (…)’ – May 2014
3 . https://www.bundesnetzagentur.de/SharedDocs/Pressemitteilungen/EN/2016/161220_5G.html
4. https://www.comreg.ie/industry/radio-spectrum/spectrum-awards/3-6ghz-spectrum-award/
5. http://www.sviluppoeconomico.gov.it/index.php/it/194-comunicati-stampa/2036228-5-citta-per-il-5g
6. https://www.ofcom.org.uk/consultations-and-statements/category-1/award-of-the-spectrum-bands
7. Official statement from MIC: www.soumu.go.jp/menu_news/s-news/01kiban14_02000297.html.
8. The member states of the Southern Africa Development Community (SADC) are Angola, Botswana, Democratic Republic of
Congo, Lesotho, Madagascar, Malawi, Mauritius, Mozambique, Namibia, Seychelles, South, Africa, Swaziland, United Republic
of Tanzania, Zambia, Zimbabwe.
9. Official statement from MIC: www.soumu.go.jp/menu_news/s-news/01kiban14_02000297.html.

©Copyright 2017 Global mobile Suppliers Association 40

ANNEX C: SOCIO-ECONOMIC STUDIES
Studies from Plum Consulting:
In the context of WRC-15 study period, the following
studies were carried out to assess the possible
economic benefits from the availability of 3400-4200
MHz spectrum:
•• “Use of 3400/3600-4200 MHz for mobile broadband
in Hungary, Italy, Sweden and the UK” - Prepared by
Plum consulting for GSA companies - June ’15 1
•• “Use of 3300-4200 MHz spectrum for mobile
broadband in cities: London and Shenzhen” -
Prepared by Plum consulting for GSMA and Huawei
– Oct ’15 2
Even if the spectrum clearing option remains the
preferred solution in certain countries, the studies
quantify the economic benefits that would derive from
the earlier availability of the 3400/3600-3800 MHz and
3800-4200 MHz spectrum on a shared basis.
The base case scenario is compared with alternate case
scenarios where the 3400-4200 MHz spectrum is made
available at earlier dates with different approaches to
spectrum sharing (from basic / conservative sharing
Figure C1: benefits from avoided cost million EUR in 2018 NPV terms.
1 . http://plumconsulting.co.uk/pdfs/Plum_Jun2015_Use_of_C-band_
for_mobile_broadband_in_Hungary_Italy_Sweden_and_UK.pdf
2 . www.gsma.com/spectrum/wp.../GSMA_C-band_Report.pdf
©Copyright 2017 Global mobile Suppliers Association
models to more advanced sharing scenarios). These
studies have shown that the early availability of the
3400/3600-3800 MHz and 3800-4200 MHz spectrum
for IMT is expected to yield significant net benefit as
this spectrum could offer the large contiguous blocks
that will be required for mobile broadband use as
mobile data traffic grows. The actual magnitude of the
benefit is dependent on a number of factors including
demographics, the density of incumbent services and
projected traffic growth, see the Figure C1.
The results of the study suggest that consideration
should be given to the early release of spectrum at
3400/3600-3800 MHz. Also, release of spectrum at
3800-4200 MHz should be considered as a medium
term measure.
The economic benefit is estimated as the potential
change in cost that operators could experience from
having access to larger amounts (alternate cases) of
spectrum compared to a base case.
In the base case the core assumption is that the
frequencies in the 3600-3800 MHz range and the
spectrum range 3800-4200 MHz will be released
between 2020 and 2025 and between 2025 and 2030
41
respectively. The sharing scenario assumed in the base
case is based on the ITU-R I / N protection criterion for
both FSS ES and fixed links
In the alternate case, the 3400-4200 MHz spectrum is
assumed to be available at earlier dates and the link
performance aware 3
and the advanced frequency
sharing4 scenarios are used.
It should be noted that some of the other assumptions
used to model the benefit are conservative the avoided
cost is likely to be underestimated. Also, only outdoor
deployments have been considered in the model and
no benefits (consumer surplus) are included from use
of the spectrum for indoor small cells.
Socio-economic study for the European
Commission
annum respectively, and thus a total of EUR 62.5 billion.
Second order effects are indirect benefits to society,
e.g. enhanced productivity, reduced pollution and
enhanced security) In the benefit analysis they are
represented by four environments; cities, non-urban,
workplace and in the home. The annual benefits from
the second order effects in these environments are
estimated to be EUR 81, 10.5, 30.6 and 1.32 billion per
annum and environment respectively, and thus a total
of EUR 50.6 billion.
The sum of first and second order effects, EUR 113.3
billion per annum can be split between benefits for
business, 63%, and benefits for consumers and society,
37%.
These numbers should be compared with the estimated

A study has been carried out for the European total cost of deployment for 5G systems which is in the

Commission with the aim of forecasting qualitative and range of EUR 56.6 to 58 billion, also noting further that

quantitative socio-economic benefits of 5G in the EU trickle-down effects are estimated to be EUR 141.8

(Identification and quantification of key socio-economic billion and 2.3 million new jobs in the EU member

data to support strategic planning for the introduction states.

of 5G in Europe, SMART number: 2014/0008). The

analysis is thus not frequency band specific, but
provides overall results for 5G in all frequency bands.
Nevertheless, considering the importance of the 3400-
3800 MHz range for 5G deployments, providing a
combination of coverage and capacity, the results are
clearly relevant for the 3400-3800 MHz band.

The analysis consists of two parts, first and second

order effects. First order effects focus on the more
direct benefits to the producers of goods and services,
and are represented in the benefit analysis by four
verticals: automotive, health, transport and utilities.
The total annual benefits for these four verticals are
estimated to be EUR 42.2, 5.53, 8.3 and 6.47 billion per

3 Link performance aware: considers a range incumbent service

stations (e.g. FSS Earth Stations) operating characteristics to
determine possible margins to mitigate interference (i.e. it uses the
C/(I+N) criterion for FSS protection)
4 Advanced frequency sharing: builds on the link performance aware
approach and, within the incumbent service accessible bandwidth,
accounts for spectrum not used by incumbent service station
emissions.

©Copyright 2017 Global mobile Suppliers Association 42

ANNEX D: INCUMBENT USAGE (NON IMT) CEPT countries

Fixed Satellite Service (FSS) The 3400-4200 MHz band is used for FSS space-to-Earth
links, together with the 5850-6725 MHz frequency
The figure below provides information regarding the
band for Earth-to-space links. 3600-3800 MHz and
expected development of the FSS industry. New satellite
3800-4200 MHz are usually used more extensively than
technologies (e.g. adaptive coding and modulation)
the lower part, 3400-3600 MHz. It is further noted that
allow for a gradual shift of C-band FSS services (VSAT,
there are areas in most European countries where the
satellite news gathering, legacy operations, government
use of FSS earth stations has not been authorised, but
& defence uses) to higher frequency bands (Ka, Ku).
also that in a number of countries, receive-only earth
For instance, there is an ongoing rollout of low orbit
stations and VSATs have been deployed which are not
satellite constellations operating at Ka and Ku bands
registered and for which there is thus no information
providing broadband services globally up to 24  Mbps
about the location of the frequencies used. Some
with <30 ms latency (2-way).
Administrations have decided that non-registered
Some examples of C-band FSS usage in different earth stations cannot claim any protection.
countries and regions are provided below.

Figure D1: expected development of the FSS industry in C-band and higher frequency bands (Ka, Ku).

United States: Mexico

The 3600-3650 MHz band is allocated to the FSS
(spaceto-Earth) on a primary basis for non-federal
use. Use of this FSS downlink allocation is limited to
international inter-continental systems and is subject
to case-by-case electromagnetic compatibility analysis.
The FCC has licensed primary FSS earth stations to
receive frequencies in the 3600-3650 MHz band in 35
cities. Above 3700 MHz, FSS also makes extensive use of
the 3700-4200 MHz band in the United States in order
to provide video distribution, mobile voice and data
backhaul, retail services, aeronautical applications and
other uses, to commercial and government customers.
©Copyright 2017 Global mobile Suppliers Association
The band 3400 – 3600 MHz has been allocated to FSS
and FS. The band 3600 – 4200 MHz has been assigned
entirely to FSS (i.e., satellite services).
Brazil
The band 3600-3800 MHz has been allocated to
satellite services, space-to-earth, largely used by TVRO.
It is estimated that there are 5 million households that
receive TV in this band but the deployment of Digital
TV Broadcasting should accelerate the migration of
this legacy user base.
43
Figure D2: FSS Earth Stations in 3700-4200 MHz in the U.S.

The band 3800-4200 MHz has been allocated to satellite Europe 3400-4200 MHz:
services, space-to-earth. It can also be used for fixed
Europe: 3400-3800 MHz is used for P-MP (point-to-
services (around 150 active links today).
multipoint) applications as well as for P-P (point-to-
Argentina
point). The 3400-3800 MHz band is also addressed

The band 3600-4200 MHz has been allocated to satellite by the European Commission Decision 2008/411/EC,

services. where neutrality with regard to technology and service

is required, i.e. it is defined as an ECS band. Figure D4 5
Fixed Service (FS)
describes the development of P-P and P-MP in Europe.
USA: One may assume that the number of base stations (BS)

In the U.S., terrestrial microwave services licensed under is underestimated, as block and link based licenses are

Part 101 of the FCC’s rules also operate in this band. foreseen in many countries.

Because of the very strict coordination requirements ‘The 3600-4200 MHz band is also used in CEPT countries
of FS with FSS, FS deployment has been very limited in by the Fixed Service for low, medium and high capacity
the U.S. P-MP and P-P systems.’
Figure D3: Fixed Service links in 3700-4200 MHz in the U.S.

5. ECC Report 173

©Copyright 2017 Global mobile Suppliers Association 44

Figure D4: trend for the P-P and P-MP links (in this case only BS are counted) in the 3400-4200 MHz band, in
the 19 CEPT countries available for comparison.
Mexico:
The band 3300-3400 MHz has been allocated to FS
(i.e., incumbent use is microwave links). The 3400-3600
MHz band has been allocated to FS and FSS services.
In 1998, three FS FWA concessions of 2x25 MHz each
were awarded, and will expire in Dec. 2018.
Brazil:
The band 3400-3600 MHz has been allocated to Fixed
(PTP, PMP), Mobile (SMP) and Broadband/FWA (SCM)
services. Today it is organized as FDD with a 100MHz
shift. However, this entire band will be reorganized and
may be auctioned as B42 TDD by 2019.
Argentina:
The band 3400-3600 MHz has been allocated to Fixed
Services (i.e., microwave, WIMAX and proprietary
technologies). Regulator ENACOM is currently studying
the reallocation of the band to allow mobile services
-without a specific timetable. In addition, the bands
3300-3400 MHz and 3400-3600 MHz were identified for
IMT services during the past WRC 2015.
Chile:
The band 3400-3600 MHz has been allocated to FS.
Four FWA TDD concessions have been granted to
mobile three Operators.
©Copyright 2017 Global mobile Suppliers Association
Colombia:
The band 3400-3600 MHz has been allocated to FS.
FWA/BWA concessions were awarded in 2004, and
expired between 2015 and 2016. The government
identified the 3300-3400 MHz, 3400-3600 MHz and
3600-3700 MHz bands for IMT services during the
past ITU-R WRC 2015.
Costa Rica:
The band 3400-3625 MHz has been allocated to FS,
FSS, and IMT services. In 2001, FWA/BWA (i.e., WiMAX)
concessions of 100 MHz each were awarded to two
Operators. The government identified the 3300-3400
MHz, 3400-3600 MHz and 3600-3700 MHz bands for
IMT services during the past ITU-R WRC 2015.
Radar
USA:
In the United States, the 3550-3650 MHz band is
allocated to the Radiolocation Service (RLS) and the
Aeronautical Radionavigation Service (ARNS) (ground-
based) on a primary basis for federal use. Both fixed
and mobile high-powered Department of Defence
(DoD) radar systems on ground-based, shipborne, and
airborne platforms operate in this band. These radar
systems are used in conjunction with weapons control
systems and for the detection and tracking of air and
surface targets. The 3500-3600 MHz and 3600-3650
45
MHz bands are allocated to RLS on a secondary basis for
non-federal use. In 3100-3500 MHz, there are primary
allocations for shipborne, airborne, and ground-based
radars operated by the DoD.”

Europe:

3300-3400 MHz has been harmonised by NATO for

military use: see further NATO Joint Civil/Military
Frequency Agreement (NJFA) 2014. In the 3400 – 4200
MHz frequency range, there is no radar usage in Europe.

Brazil

The band 3300-3400 MHz has been allocated to

radiolocation services (i.e., radars). It can also be used
for FIXED (Point-To-Point & Point-to-Multipoint links)
and there are approximately 852 Stations in service for
terrestrial microwave links. Now there is a proposal to
move the “SARC Movel” services from 2.3GHz to this
band, but that should take until 2019 to be concluded
(SARC Movel is the service for those TV trucks and vans
to establish remote links to broadcast).

©Copyright 2017 Global mobile Suppliers Association 46

ACRONYMS
AAS Active Antenna System
APT Asia-Pacific Telecommunity
ATU African Telecommunications Union
ASMG Arab Spectrum Management Group
AV / VR Augmented Reality / Virtual Reality (AR / VR)
CBRS Citizens Broadband Radio Service
CEPT European Conference of Postal and Telecommunications Administrations
CITEL Inter-American Telecommunication Commission
CPE Customer Premises Equipment
DL Downlink
DSL Digital Subscriber Line
EC European Commission
EIRP Equivalent Isotropic Radiated Power
eMBB enhanced Mobile Broadband
FBB Fixed Broadband
FCC Federal Communications Commission
FS Fixed Service
FSS Fixed Satellite Service
FWA Fixed Wireless Access
GAA General Authorized Access
GSA The Global mobile Suppliers Association
IMT International Mobile Telecommunication
ITU-R International Telecommunications Union - Radiocommunications Bureau
LSA License Shared Access
LTE Long Term Evolution
MBB Mobile Broadband
MIMO Multiple Input Multiple Output
mMTC massive Machine Type Communications
NFAT National Frequency Allocation Table
NR New Radio
PAL Priority Access License
QoS Quality of Service
RCC Regional Commonwealth in the field of Communications
SAS Spectrum Access System
TDD Time Division Duplex
TRP Total Radiated Power
UHD Ultra High Definition
UL Uplink
URLLC Ultra Reliable Low Latency Communications
VSAT Very Small Aperture Terminals
WRC World Radio Conference
3GPP 3rd Generation Partnership Project

©Copyright 2017 Global mobile Suppliers Association 47

About GSA

GSA (the Global mobile Suppliers Association) is a not-for-profit industry organisation representing companies
across the worldwide mobile ecosystem engaged in the supply of infrastructure, semiconductors, test
equipment, devices, applications and mobile
support services.

GSA actively promotes the 3GPP technology road-map – 3G; 4G; 5G – and is a single source of information
resource for industry reports and market intelligence. GSA Members drive the GSA agenda and define the
communications and development strategy for the Association.

Membership of GSA is open to any supplier of products; systems or services related to the mobile industry
and brings many benefits including access to the GAMBoD database. The range of benefits includes enhanced
discussion, networking and influencing opportunities on the key industry topics, and unique promotional/
visibility opportunities for your company name, capabilities, positioning and messages. More details can be
found at https://gsacom.com/gsa-membership/

Website http://www.gsacom.com

News/updates RSS Feed: https://gsacom.com/rss-feeds/

GSA LinkedIN group: www.linkedin.com/groups?gid=2313721

LTE User Devices LinkedIN group: www.linkedin.com/groups?gid=4146472

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Twitter: www.twitter.com/gsacom

Facebook: www.facebook.com/pages/Global-mobile-Suppliers-Association-GSA/123462771012551

NOTES:

Errors & Omissions Excepted

Contact

Contact: GSA Secretariat

Email: info@gsacom.com
Tel: +44 330 113 1572

GSA website: www.gsacom.com

©Copyright 2017 Global mobile Suppliers Association 48