GETTING TO 5G Something New, Something Borrowed, Something Blue :

Transcription

1 GETTING TO 5G Something New, Something Borrowed, Something Blue : 23 January :00-3:15 Chip Yorkgitis, Partner, Kelley, Drye & Warren, LLP

2 The Question of What 5G Is and What Spectrum It Requires Standards are still being established General agreement that it is a system of systems Diversity of uses, technologies, and platforms will characterize 5G All spectrum is potentially suitable for 5G But not all spectrum bands can be used for the same purposes Propagation characteristics at different frequencies vary Regulatory history within bands well before 5G can have a long-lasting impact No consensus on just how much spectrum is required To meet growing demand increased bits/s/hz/km 2 is needed More spectrum only one part of the possible answer Most agree that low-, mid-, and high-band spectrum will all be required

3 The Challenge of International Allocations and Global Harmonization WRC-19 Involves Several Agenda Items That Offer Potential to Support 5G Roll Out, Including Agenda Item 1.6: NGSOs in bands between 37 and 51 GHz Agenda Item 1.13: IMT above 24 GHz Agenda Item 1.14: HAPS spectrum requirements (incl. possible new designations in and GHz in Region 2 and GHz globally) Agenda Item 1.16: WAS/RLAN between 5150 MHz and 5925 MHz Nations Preserve Sovereignty within Borders WRCs Only Every Three or Four Years Some Countries Moving ahead of or at Variance with ITU (e.g., USA)

4 Convergence Occurring outside WRC Process: 3 GHz Process Recent national spectrum policies, plans, and initiatives increasingly creating harmonized mobile bands in mid-bands in and around GHz Japan: GHz (and GHz) South Korea: GHz China: GHz (and GHz) Australia: GHz India: GHz UK: GHz Europe: GHz U.S.: GHz (looking at and GHz)

5 Weaker Convergence Occurring in mmw Bands FCC acted ahead of and ultimately at variance with results of WRC-15 which identified bands to be studied and considered at WRC-19 for IMT October 2015 Notice led to July 2016 Order allocating Upper Microwave Flexible Use Service or UMFUS in , , and GHz November 2017 second Order allocated / and GHz for UMFUS WRC-19 studying , , , GHz, , , , , and GHz for IMT (WRC-15 Res. 238) FCC rejected in November 2017 Order , , 71-76, and GHz for land mobile Other countries also moving ahead with plans in mmw bands for 5G E.g., Japan ( , , GHz), South Korea ( and, later, / GHz),China ( and GHz), Australia ( GHz), and Europe ( GHz).

6 Sharing an Increasing Reality Increased push for global or regional harmonization of spectrum bands, so as to achieve, for example, greater economies of scale for new technologies (e.g., 5G), often causes national regulators to confront issues of access to already-occupied bands Band clearing increasingly problematic increasing the need for practical sharing mechanisms This is especially true in bands below 6 GHz which historically was where most licensing took place and where there long have been incumbent users (e.g., government, commercial, satellite, broadcasting) FCC addressing these issues in its 3.5 GHz proceeding (and in nearby candidate 5G bands), as well as its Spectrum Frontiers proceeding 3.5 GHz regulatory framework provides for dynamic access among three tiers of prioritized users enabled by Spectrum Access Administrators and Environmental Sensing Capability Appetite for dynamic access systems, i.e., Spectrum Access System or SAS, and sharing generally not as strong in November 2017 Spectrum Frontiers Order as in 3.5 GHz context Over time, sharing methods are likely to become increasingly complex to maximize effective utilization of spectrum in both space and time dimensions Political and economic realities as much of an obstacle to sharing as, if not more than, technology

7 Policy Choices When Considering Sharing Every successfully demonstrated or proposed new sharing method is a potential new tool others can use prior to success there may be skepticism to adopt or even consider Every sharing scenario is effectively unique to the bands and mix of users at issue To what extent are the regulations designed to facilitate sharing, such as Receiver and transmitter design Development of interference protection criteria Use of risk-based interference analysis versus worst-case scenario-based analysis Whether and how to implement sharing in a given scenario assuming technical feasibility involves policy questions regulators have to balance based on national conditions such as Is there a need to monetize value of spectrum through auctions? Does the administration favor a market-based approach to access? Will the diminished certainty of access and use inhibit investment and deployment? Will innovation and competition be fostered by lowering barriers to access spectrum? Do either the incumbent or prospective users perform a critical mission? What is the cost of relocation of the incumbents and/or a given sharing mechanism and how to pay for it?

8 Thank you. Chip Yorkgitis Partner, Kelley Drye & Warren LLP (202)