DIGITALEUROPE Vision on Spectrum Needs for 5G

BACKGROUND

Additional spectrum for mobile broadband services (MBB) will be considered by ITU-R at WRC-15 under agenda item 1.1, addressing MBB growth up to around 2020. Forecasts from industry and academia as well as general consumer trends however point towards continuing growth beyond 2020 in the demand for MBB. Researchers continue to advance the technological capabilities of MBB to satisfy the expected growth and the demands of the new applications. These activities indicate that new spectrum bands need to be made available to support the development of future human and machine-type communication and associated economic growth also beyond 2020.

5G will need to operate in a multi-Radio Access Technology environment, where evolution of current MBB technology families and 5G are expected to co-exist. In addition, 5G should incorporate a robust multiconnectivity architecture leveraging the available radio access technologies to provide seamless wireless connectivity. 5G networks may integrate a range of technological solutions for frequencies below 6GHz as well as for new spectrum bands above 6GHz including mmWave not previously considered for MBB.

5G networks will incorporate technologies for ultra-narrowband to ultra-wideband operations and support a fully connected networked society where access to information and sharing of data, including cloud based services, is provided anywhere and anytime for anyone and anything (Internet of Things). Mobile access to internet services shall match the capabilities of fixed networks. Mobile user equipment will play a wide and continuously evolving variety of roles in everyday life.