ECC is modernising its regulatory framework
towards enabling 4G services
(reviewing the process of changing regulation for the ‘core’ 2 GHz mobile band)
Alexander Gulyaev, ECO
European Spectrum Managemenet Forum 2012,
Munich, 5-7 November 2012
alexander.gulyaev@eco.cept.org
www.cept.org/eco
Outline
• European regulatory landscape
• Should the regulation be modernized to enable 4G?
• ECC has ‘opened’ the 3.5 GHz & 2 GHz mobile bands for 4G
• What’s ahead?
European regulatory framework
for radio spectrum and equipment
Read more at
http://apps.cept.org/
eccetsirel/
The three European regulatory bodies
European Commission:
Single market issues
Binding regulations based on the
results of mandates to CEPT/ECC
and harmonised standards of ETSI
(27 Member States)
CEPT/ECC:
Consensus and voluntary character
Spectrum designation to
systems/applications and
harmonised technical conditions for
its use (48 member countries)
ETSI:
European Harmonised standards (EN) for radio equipment
‘System Reference Documents’ (SRDoc) which inform and trigger
much of the CEPT/ECC work
(over 700 industry members and European national regulators)
EC: Radio Spectrum Policy Programme (RSPP)
• Wireless broadband (1200 MHz by 2015)
• Spectrum Inventory
• Other sector policies : Public protection and disaster relief
(PPDR), Electricity production and distribution (Green...),
Wireless microphones and cameras (PMSE)
• Foster different modes of spectrum sharing
• Spectrum Trading (where flexible use available)
Hard facts – the growth of mobile broadband
Feb 2008
Jul 2009 Nov 2010
Source: ECC PT1 Report on mobile broadband,
September 2011 (www.cept.org/ecc/eccpt1)
European harmonised ‘mobile bands’
800 MHz - LTE (Digital Dividend)
up to
60-65 MHz
900MHz - GSM/UMTS/LTE
50-70 MHz
1800MHz - GSM/UMTS/LTE
150 MHz
2 GHz - UMTS/HSPA+/LTE
160 MHz
2.6 GHz - LTE
190 MHz
3.4-3.8 GHz - BWA (fixed/mobile)
400 MHz
RSPP: ”find 1200 MHz bandwidth”
New services – new spectrum priorities
• While discussions around the new mobile spectrum in the
UHF-band (1st and 2nd Digital dividends) remain very
politicized considering the social importance of low frequency
ranges, these bands lack the capacity to meet demand for
delivering 4G applications to the mass market
• New, really high-speed mobile services, such as enhanced
Internet browsing, video streaming and video calls, require
significantly greater channel bandwidths than 5 MHz (for
example, 10, 20 and 40 MHz) and thus much more
contiguous spectrum to accommodate the demand! (these
requirements are technically justified in ITU-R Report M.2134)
New spectrum for 4G
Future home for 4G services:
the ‘core’ 2 GHz mobile band &
other ‘capacious’ mobile bands : 2.6 GHz and 3.5 GHz
• WRCs have identified several bands for IMT
• ITU-R: 6 IMT-2000 radio interfaces and 2 IMT-Advanced
radio interfaces ensuring a competitive environment
• ECC: even more neutral regulatory framework for MFCN:
Mobile/Fixed Communications Networks (including IMT)
Additional spectrum for mobile broadband
In addition to the existing IMT bands, ECC has already taken steps
for defining the harmonised technical conditions enabling 4G
services in other bands:
• 3600-3800 MHz (the newly approved ECC Decisoin (11)06
on harmonised frequency arrangements for MFCN)
• 1452-1492 MHz (the ”L-band”) – draft ECC Report 188
(addressing the options of Mobile Broadband and Mobile
Supplemental Downlink) is under public consultatoin;
• 2300-2400 MHz – ECC Report 172 for Broadband Wireless
Systems is published, an ECC Decision is being developed
ECO Report 03: national authorisations in the ‘mobile bands’
• ECO Report 03 on licensing of ‘mobile bands’ in CEPT contains detailed
information on national authorisations issued in CEPT countries for all
‘mobile bands’, from ‘first hands’!
• The 2GHz paired bands are the most used bands in Europe for the
provision of mobile broadband services while the 2 GHz unpaired bands are
largely underused.
• The 2500-2690 MHz band is in use in a few European countries for providing
mobile broadband services while in many either the authorisation process or
networks deployment is taking place.
• The 3400-3600 MHz and 3600-3800 MHz bands can be progressively made
available for mobile broadband (review the recent developments in the 3.5 GHz in the
presentation by Alexander Gulyaev (ECO) of September 2012 on the ECO presentations webpage)
The ”Block Edge Mask” (BEM) concept (1)
• A BEM is an emission mask that is
defined as a function of frequency, relative
to the edge of a block of spectrum that is
licensed to an operator.
• BEM consists of in-block and out-ofblock components which specify the
permitted emission levels over frequencies
inside and outside the licensed block of
spectrum respectively.
In-band BEM
Power
Limit
Block
Neighbour
Own
Licence Licence
Frequency
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The ”Block Edge Mask” (BEM) concept (2)
Block Edge Mask (in the licence):
 “Technology neutral”
 Applies to the entire operator’s
spectrum block
 Covers both in-block and out-ofblock emissions
 Different BEMs apply to terminals
and base stations (may also vary
between the bands and TDD and
FDD modes)
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Spectrum Emission Mask (in the
standard):
 Technology specific (transmitter,
channelling)
 Ensure intra-system compatibility
 Forms a part of equipment
conformity assessment
BEM vs. SEM
• Flexibility is
given to
operators in
how to comply
with BEM
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2 GHz mobile band: major European milestones
•
1997-2000: first ERC Decisions (97)07, (99)25 and (00)01 addressing the 2 GHz
band created a background for the harmonised introduction of UMTS in Europe
•
2001-2003: licensing of the 2 GHz mobile bands in many European countries
based on the ERC Decisions
•
2003-2005: deployment of UMTS (3G) networks in many European countries
•
2006: ECC Decision (06)01 on harmonised utilisation of the 2 GHz paired and
unpaired bands for IMT-2000/UMTS replaced earlier ERC Decisions
•
2006-2011: the paired bands 1920-1980 MHz & 2110-2170 MHz are widely used
in Europe for UMTS/HSPA (3G+) networks; the unpaired band 1900-1920 MHz,
although licensed in many countries, remains not much used; the other unpaired
band 2010-2025 MHz is authorised in a few countries only
•
2012: ECC Decision (06)01 is modernized to open the paired 2 GHz bands for
“4G” services having greater channel bandwidth
2 GHz: an important milestone
• In June 2009, the European Commission issued a mandate to
CEPT to develop common and minimal (least restrictive) technical
conditions for the 2 GHz bands.
• CEPT Report 39 is the CEPT response to this Mandate. It deals
with the band plan for the 2 GHz bands including both paired
(2x60 MHz FDD) and unpaired (20+15 MHz) band.
• CEPT Report 39 was built on the earlier ECC work (ERC Report
065), by considering developments in characteristics of systems
operating in adjacent bands and by considering technology neutral
approach to allow technologies other than UMTS.
2 GHz: removing the limitations of the current regulation
• In 2010-2011 ECC reviewed the situation in the 2 GHz band and
decided to focus the revision of the regulatory framework for
mobile networks on the 2 GHz paired bands only. Another
framework will be developed for the 2 GHz unpaired bands.
• November 2012: the updated ECC/DEC/(06)01 will allow the
deployment of systems with channel bandwidths larger than 5
MHz in the 2 GHz paired bands by defining the block edge
frequency instead of the carrier centre frequency; it also contains
the BEM for the downlink.
• The European Commission has just adopted an EU Decision on
the 2 GHz paired bands which is binding for EU Member States
and defines the same technical conditions as in ECC/DEC/(06)01
2 GHz: transition to the modernized regulatory framework
• The revision of ECC/DEC/(06)01 has modified the band plans and
reduced the number of options relative to FDD or TDD operations.
The band 1920-1980 MHz is now designated only for FDD uplink.
• The updated ECC/DEC/(06)01 appears to be future-proof since
its technology neutral: future mobile broadband systems (e.g.
LTE-Advanced) will be replacing existing systems without the
need for another regulatory change.
• Transition from the existing framework may encompass different
stages at the national level, incl. consultation processes, with a
varying complexity depending on the legal and regulatory
framework as well as the existing national licensing situation.
Regulatory certainty : what will it give us?
These technically oriented regulatory efforts are necessary to ensure
the future common Europen market of high-speed mobile applications
affordable to end users :
• reduce the development and implementation costs of manufacturing
equipment;
• secure long term investments by providing economies of scale;
• maximise the opportunities and benefits for end users; and
• reduce the complexity in the spectrum cross border coordination
Participating in ECC work: how to join
www.cept.org/ecc