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MMWAVE BANDS FOR 5G

By Joe Barrett, President,
Global mobile Suppliers Association (GSA)

As of the end of 2020, 412 operators in 131 countries/territories were
investing in 5G, with 5G services now launched in all regions, including 85
networks in EMEA, 35 in APAC and 15 in the Americas.
THE MMWAVE
Look deeper, and it is clear that mmWave spectrum bands are being explicitly
opened up to enable provision of 5G services. 132 operators in 43 countries/ OPPORTUNITY:
territories are investing in 5G (in the form of trials, licences, deployments or
INDIA CASE STUDY
operational networks) across the 24.25-29.5 GHz spectrum range.
Of those, 85 operators are known to have been licensed to deploy 5G in this
range, while 24 operators are understood to be actively deploying 3GPP-
compliant 5G networks using this spectrum.
Recent research authored by GSMA
In addition to the existing IMT bands, the recent WRC-2019 identified Intelligence reveals how India stands
several additional new mmWave frequency ranges to enable use by IMT- to benefit significantly from mmWave-
2020 (5G), including 24.25–27.5 GHz, 37–43.5 GHz, 45.5–47 GHz, 47.2– enabled 5G using bands such as 26 GHz
48.2 GHz and 66–71 GHz. and 28 GHz.
Of these, it is the 24.25–29.5 GHz range covering the overlapping Bands Approximately $150 billion in additional
n257 (26.5–29.5 GHz), n258 (24.25–27.5 GHz) and n261 (27.5–28.35 GHz) GDP is anticipated for India over the
that has been the most-licensed/deployed 5G mmWave spectrum range to period 2025–2040, with the manufacturing
date. sector expected to see the greatest impact,
accounting for about a fifth of the gains.
Band n260, covering 37–40 GHz, is also being used, with 32 companies in The healthcare sector will also benefit
six countries / territories investing in licences for, or networks using this greatly from mmWave-enabled 5G, with an
spectrum. Of those, 31 hold licences, with the majority of those based in the impact of approximately $4 billion.
USA and its territories. Three operators in the USA have launched 5G using
Band n260. Europe (CEPT) is also now developing frequency arrangements A recent technical report by the GSA shows
for 40.5-43.5 GHz which is due to be finalised this year with licensing how terrestrial 5G can be introduced into
anticipated to then follow. the 24.25-29.5 GHz frequency range in
India while also enabling sharing with
However, 5G device support for spectrum bands above 24 GHz remains at an satellite systems.
early stage. As the number of announced 5G devices broke the 500 barrier,
GSA’s GAMBoD database counted 95 announced 5G devices that do or will
support mmWave spectrum bands with 46 understood to be commercially
available (up from 27 at the end of May).

Crucially, most of the opportunities mmWave-enabled
5G offer largely depend on how and when the spectrum
is made available. Timely access to harmonised and
sufficient quantity of spectrum is key to maximising
fulfilment of societal and digital.
Access to a broad range of spectrum resources is one of
the main growth drivers for the deployment of mobile
broadband, IoT, and fixed wireless access services;
conversely spectrum can also be a limiting factor for the
expansion of services into new markets and industries.
It is incumbent upon national authorities, regulators,
operators and the vendor community to work together
to deliver on the mmWave 5G opportunity.
www.gsacom.com

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Issue 02 - March 2021 17