US WRC Recommendations Must Reflect Progress on 5G, T-Mobile, CTIA Say
Some preliminary recommendations of the FCC World Radiocommunication Conference Advisory Committee (WAC) don’t take into account the agency’s work so far on 5G, T-Mobile said in a filing in docket 16-185. CTIA agreed. “The Commission must continue to be a…
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leader in the critical effort to ensure that spectrum is globally available for those developing services,” T-Mobile said. “The Recommendations should therefore be adjusted so that they more accurately reflect our Nation’s goals.” The U.S. position should promote policies like making spectrum available for 5G terrestrial services “on an exclusive basis,” T-Mobile said. “The Recommendations do not yet make this clear, and the Commission should modify them before they are final.” T-Mobile said some of the proposals could lead to “inconsistent use of bands that in the U.S. have been targeted for possible 5G mobile terrestrial use.” The WAC reflects the perspective of industry as the U.S. develops positions for the worldwide conference, which is to take place in 2019. CTIA also said the recommendations should account for U.S. progress on 5G. The recommendations should focus on “allocation of additional mobile broadband spectrum to match the ever-increasing consumer demand for wireless service domestically as well as prioritize efforts to facilitate access to spectrum for 5G internationally,” the wireless association said: They should also “ensure that U.S. international positions are consistent and compatible with recent domestic decisions regarding terrestrial mobile spectrum bands.” 5G Americas said the next WRC must focus on finding additional high-frequency spectrum for wireless broadband. “In 2014, consumers in North America used on average 1.89 GB of mobile data per month,” the group said. “By the time of WRC-19, consumers in North America are expected to use on average 11 GB of mobile data per month -- more than five times the capacity from five years before. With that pace of growth, global study of additional bands for 5G is justified.” The Association of American Railroads commented that the U.S. should push for international harmonization of spectrum used for railroad communications in the country: “AAR urges the Bureau to ensure that the railroads’ extensive investments in railway radiocommunication systems are protected from interference from new systems.”