As the conference wound up, attention turned to the nuts and bolts of the industry – namely spectrum
Spectrum: Delivering a 6G future
In only the fourth year of 5G’s commercial rollout, the industry’s attention is increasingly turning to what comes next. Ari Kynäslahti (VP, CTO, Strategy & Technology Mobile Networks, Nokia) considers there is a pressing need to find the ‘golden band’ for 6G, which will be vital to enabling applications like FWA and XR with high downlink and uplink rates. Chen Chuanfei (CSO, Wireless Product Line, Huawei) confirmed that this is the first time they’re publicly mentioning their expectations for 6G, demonstrating use cases mostly based on sensoring. Luciana Camargos (Head of Spectrum, GSMA) stated that while it feels like 6G is a long way off, there is a need to plan for its arrival 10-15 years in advance. For example, harmonisation of 3.5GHz started in 2007 and has been key to helping 5G take off.
Camargos saw frequencies between 7-15GHz, and potentially the 24GHz band, as having potential to be used for 6G, adding that the industry should also consider identifying more low band spectrum (e.g. UHF) despite this making for a “challenging conversation” to have with broadcasters. Cristina Data (Spectrum Director, Ofcom) agreed with panellists that a significant growth is required to underpin a range of applications, adding that lots of mmWave spectrum will be made available and existing bands will be refarmed, thereby easing current constraints. As a regulator, Ofcom is seeking to understand future demands and use cases better in order to ensure that spectrum is available where it is needed. This may lead to higher band spectrum being allocated in a specific city or area, for example. Data stated that Ofcom is seeking to be innovative in its approach and thinking, indicating that 6G may mean, or require, different assignment models and/or greater sharing of spectrum between users on a geographic or dynamic basis.
5G: Modernise to Monetise
During a fireside chat on accelerating 5G, we heard more questions on fair share – an issue that featured prominently during days 1 and 2. Adolfo Hernandez (VP, Global Telco Business, AWS) wasn’t to be drawn into the debate though, preferring instead to highlight the solutions his company is offering the telecoms industry, which are helping operators better monetise the connectivity they provide. Along similar lines, Christian Thrane (MD, Marketing, BT & EE Consumer) outlined the operator’s ambition to play a bigger and more central role in its customers’ lives, and to deliver an end-to-end experience beyond just connectivity. While noting EE’ 5G population coverage of 65% and the intention to utilise that network asset, Thrane presented a vision of EE as a subscription business that is broader than telecoms services. He also suggested the potential for differentiated pricing by level of service in order to meet the needs of customers while realising new revenue opportunities.
Around the Ministerial Programme
The ‘Ask The Regulator’ session gathered heads of national regulatory authorities. ACMA (Australia) explained how they’d implemented regulator-led innovations in spectrum management that encourage greater flexibility and innovation, and also shared their achievements in the fight against phone scams. ANATEL (Brazil) outlined an innovative characteristic of a recent 5G auction from which ANATEL didn't generate any revenues - fees were converted into obligations for coverage. The EETT (Greece) explained that the 2020 5G spectrum auction was seen as an economic opportunity - and enabled spectrum costs to be paid in several instalments over 15 years, providing stability for investment and 5G network deployment. On the whole regulators recognised their role in creating an investment-friendly environment and the need to address the demand side.
Like elsewhere at the conference, there was a heated debate on delivering connectivity and who should pay for it. Forecasts were presented that showed that mobile traffic will at least quadruple in five years. There is significant demand for operators to invest in their networks (including soon into 6G). Arguments were made that over the past decade, connectivity providers have benefited the least among the segments of the internet value chain. As such, big tech should be seen not just as users but also as contributors to digital infrastructure, however also that the fair share debate should consider the whole contribution that the tech sector is making to build the value of the internet. Finally, that the now familiar "all you can use package” approach for data is not beneficial to telecoms, and it won’t be beneficial for large traffic originators down the road.
