Mobile is at the heart of a trillion dollar industry comprising not just the operators but also device manufacturers (including in health, transportation and utilities to name a few), content and service offerings. If your business is mobile related, the one element that is crucial is the network that it is delivered across.
To keep our networks healthy and supporting the data flow that has been forecast, we will need to look for more spectrum and look soon. At WRC-12, we will aim to secure an agenda item, whereby if accepted, regulators around the world will look to harmonise on new bands for IMT technologies.
If your business is mobile-related, we ask you to support yourselves by getting involved to advocate for additional spectrum to your respective governments. Contact us for help in how to support our ask for Future Spectrum for IMT.
WRC-12
The World Radiocommunication Conference (WRC) is held every three to four years, under the auspices of the ITU Radiocommunications Sector (ITU-R), with the current WRC-12 running in January/February 2012. It is the job of the WRC to review and, if necessary, revise the radio regulations, the international treaty governing the use of radio-frequency spectrum and the geostationary-satellite and non-geostationary-satellite orbits.
The ITU-R supports the establishment of a framework for the use of radio spectrum on a global scale. It does this by helping to ensure that radio interference between countries is minimised through the use of harmonised spectrum, and managing the detailed coordination and recording procedures that are used by neighbouring countries. The ITU also promotes the harmonisation of certain families of equipment standards to generate economies of scale to drive down equipment costs and facilitate international roaming.
The WRC has supported the development of technology families, such as IMT (International Mobile Telecommunications, by defining spectrum for specific uses. Such definitions are not mandatory, but they have considerable influence over individual countries’ spectrum policies and send a strong signal that encourages industry to develop compatible equipment.
This process of identifying spectrum for IMT has been key to the growth of mobile broadband services, using UMTS and HSPA, and the development of the next generation of mobile broadband services (IMT-Advanced), using LTE.
