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Perspectives on the Utilization of IMT Spectrum in the UHF band in Africa

Dr. Bienvenu AGBOKPONTO SOGLO

Gov’t Affairs Director, West and Central Africa

Session 5: Key issues for the Development of Mobile Broadband in Africa

3rd ATU Digital Migration and Spectrum Policy Summit, 27-29 May 2014, Nairobi, Kenya

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ICT Facts and Figures

1

Utilization of IMT Spectrum in the

UHF Band in Africa

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Conclusion and Recommendations

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Agenda

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Mobile is the largest technology platform in the world

Evolving into Internet of Everything:

cars, meters, health-devices, etc.

~8 Billion smartphones

to be shipped 2014-20182

New form factors; tablet/laptop

variants, wearables, etc.

1 Ericsson, Ericsson Mobility Report: On the Pulse of the Networked Society (2013), 2 Gartner, Mar’14

More prevalent than electricity

or running water in some regions

~6.7 Billion connections, almost

as many as people on Earth1

5 1 ITU, “The World in 2014: ICT Facts and Figures,” ; * Estimate; ² The state of Broadband: Universalizing Broadband (A report by the Broadband Commission, Sept. 2013)

Mobile broadband Penetration The number of mobile-broadband subscriptions will reach 2.3 billion globally by the end of 2014*

90% Mobile cellular penetration

in Developing Countries¹

32% Internet penetration in

Developing Countries ¹

> 80% broadband is expected

to be mobile by 2016 ²

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A number of Mobile Broadband systems and applications, based on different standards, are available and the

suitability of each depends on usage (fixed vs. nomadic/mobile), performance and geographic requirements, among

others

In countries where wired infrastructure is not well established e.g. developing countries, Mobile Broadband systems

can be more easily deployed to deliver services to population bases in dense urban environments as well as those in

more remote areas

The 2013 Annual Broadband Commission Report contains a list of special requirements/barriers faced by

developing countries and offers examples of strategies to overcome such barriers:

Consideration for Developing Countries Servicing urban, rural and remote

Barrier/obstacle Examples of strategies to overcome the barriers

Lack of infrastructure/ high costs of deployment

• National broadband plan, including roll- out of a mutualized national backbone, as well

as in-building infrastructure

• Grants to operators to build out infrastructure, • Sharing of infrastructure and works

Limitations in amount of spectrum available • Streamline spectrum licensing and re-farming practices, • Implementation of the

digital switch-over, • More effective policies for spectrum allocation/assignment

The low levels of ICT skills of some of the population • ICT training, • Connecting up educational establishments, • ICT lessons in schools and

universities, and ICT equipment furnished at low or no cost

… ...

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Utilization of IMT Spectrum in the UHF band in Africa

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Harmonization of Channelling Arrangements in the UHF Band Channelling Arrangement for the 2nd Digital Dividend 694 – 790 MHz in Region 1

791 MHz

Band 20 Uplink

821 824 832 849 862 869 894 MHz

CDMA2000 Uplink CDMA2000 Downlink

Band 20 Downlink

790 800 810 820 830 840 850 860 870 880 890 900 MHz

703 MHz

Band 28 Downlink

748 MHz 758 MHz

803 MHz

Band 28 Uplink

700 MHz

690 700 710 720 730 740 750 760 770 780 790 800 810 820

Band 20 Downlink

791 MHz 821 MHz

800 MHz

900 MHz

Band 8 Uplink

800 MHz

880 MHz

Band 8 Downlink

915 925 960 MHz

Band 8 Uplink

880 890 900 910 920 930 940 950 960 MHz

900 MHz

694 MHz

Channelling Arrangement for the 2nd Digital Dividend 694 – 790 MHz in Region 1: 5 Options ?

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APT 700 MHz band plan is gaining momentum in Asia and Latin America

African countries are considering harmonizing the 2nd Digital dividend channelling Plan with full/partial APT

700 (3GPP Band 28) Band Plan

− Operators and consumers to take advantage of the large economies of scale

− Benefit from low cost coverage, and affordable devices

Additional work needs to be done to ensure that regulatory and technical conditions are harmonized with the

3GPP Band 28 and captured in the CPM texts being developed by JTG

− Similar User Equipment OOBE requirement should be adopted for the 700 MHz in Region 1

− Last JTG meeting is in July 2014

Harmonization of Channelling Arrangements for band 694-790MHz OOBE Limit required for User Equipment Operating at the 694 Boundary

APT 700 Band Plan (3GPP Band 28): Used for LTE networks - Total Bandwidth: 45 + 45 MHz − Uplink (UE to eNode-B) : 703 MHz to 748 MHz ; Downlink (eNode-B to UE) : 758 MHz to 803 MHz

M.1036-04-Ann2

45 MHz

698 MHz

A5

710 720 730 740 750 760 770 780 690 700 790 800

10 MHz

45 MHz806

MHz

3 MHz

5 MHz Duplexer1 UL Duplexer1 DL

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Coexistence issues between different IMT systems in the UHF Band CDMA850/LTE800 and CDMA850/UMTS900 (GSM) Interference Issues

791 MHz

Band 20 Uplink

821 824 832 849 862 869 894 MHz

CDMA2000 Downlink

Band 20 Downlink

790 800 810 820 830 840 850 860 870 880 890 900 MHz

CDMA2000 Uplink

900 MHz

Band 8 Uplink

Interference zones

800 MHz

Co-existence studies between CDMA850 and LTE 800 is being handled at the ITU-R WP 5D

Three potential interference zones between LTE 800 and CDMA 850 MHz bands

− Interference issues near 821-824 MHz boundary between LTE 800 MHz band downlink and CDMA 850 MHz band uplink

− Interference issues near 832/844 MHz boundary between CDMA 850 MHz band uplink and LTE 800 MHz band uplink

− Interference issues near 862-869 MHz boundary between LTE 800 MHz band uplink and CDMA 850 MHz band downlink

There are existing reports on the CDMA850 and GSM/UMTS900 interference issues

− CDMA BTS Tx may affect GSM BTS/UMTS Node-B Rx

− GSM MS/ UMTS UE Tx may affect CDMA MS Rx

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Conclusion and Recommendations

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With new digital dividend bands (3GPP Band 20 & Band 28), many African countries are going to have a

combination of technologies due to the presence of CDMA in the 850 MHz band, and GSM/UMTS in the 900 MHz

band

− This provides an opportunity to optimize the existing networks, while allowing evolution/introduction to/of LTE in the UHF

Band ( 694-862MHz)

− Co-existence studies of IMT Systems in the UHF band is being handled at the ITU-R WP 5D

− African countries could consider a stakeholder consultation on the coexistence/interference issues between LTE & CDMA

operators around 800 MHz in order to provide guidelines on interference mitigation as well as look at the regulatory aspect

of this coexistence issue

Harmonization of channelling arrangements in the UHF band

− WP 5D is examining the channelling plan for the 700MHz band

− Various channelling arrangements are under consideration within WP 5D (5D/TEMP/343Rev1)

− APT 700 MHz (3GPP Band 28) Band plan adoption is gaining momentum in Asia and Latin America

− To achieve harmonization with 3GPP Band 28, additional work needs to be done to ensure that regulatory and technical

conditions are harmonized (e.g. UE OOBE limit) and captured in the CPM texts being developed by JTG

Conclusion and Recommendations

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