4. UMTS Forum key messages for WRC-07 Agenda Item 1.4 Mobile market growth continues to be strong in terms of subscribers, traffic, coverage, usage of current services and of development of new services. Many growth markets still have in year 2007 a coverage limited to main cities. Therefore, there is a need for very cost effective IMT-2000/UMTS coverage solutions, business models and affordable IMT-2000/UMTS devices in these emerging markets. Higher data rates enhance the mobile user experience and lead to increased usage. More spectrum will be needed for the very high-data rate IMT-Advanced services as a response to increased traffic: UMTS Forum estimates over 40 times increase from today to the year 2020 EU FMS Smooth Development scenario estimates 30 times increase from the year 2010 to the year 2020 The Forum supports the spectrum requirement of 1720 MHz for the mobile communication by year 2020 in Europe and in some other countries, including the existing IMT-2000 spectrum. The required new spectrum amount is about 1 GHz. The value is based on the higher market setting as in Report ITU-R M.2078 and is also supported by the Forum own studies on the future spectrum requirement. The Forum urges administrations at WRC-07 to find a solution, which fulfils this estimated spectrum demand. One single candidate band cannot fulfil the estimated spectrum demand. Bands for the very high-data rate IMT-Advanced services should be globally common and below 5 GHz. A Decision at WRC-07 is necessary to enable deployment of the very high data-rate IMT-Advanced services in the timeframe of 2015-2020. For all these reasons, the candidate bands 470 – 862 MHz, 2700 – 2900 MHz, 3400 – 4200 MHz and 4400 – 4990 MHz should be allocated to the Mobile Service on a primary basis at WRC-07. Especially, UMTS Forum supports that bands 470 – 862 MHz and 3400 – 4200 MHz, which seems to be the main candidate bands. The Forum supports the identification of the band 3.4 – 4.2 GHz for IMT. The frequency band 3.4 – 3.8 GHz alone does not fulfil the estimated spectrum requirement. Therefore, also the band 3.8 – 4.2 GHz and 4.4 - 4.99 GHz should be identified for IMT. It will provide flexibility in the implementation of IMT for those countries, where parts of band 4.4 – 4.99 GHz are used for other services. Spectrum identification based on higher market setting benefits all countries including those that currently do not envisage to implement IMT in the whole spectrum: Avoiding national or regional bands, which leads to difficulty in frequency arrangement and consequentially lose the merits of globally harmonized spectrum Allowing flexibility for those administrations wishing to implement IMT based on the low market setting scenario within a part of the identified spectrum bands for higher market setting and then also benefit from global economies of scale. Some countries, subject to heavy rainfall, might have the requirement to share part of the candidate bands with satellite services and therefore part of the candidate bands could remain for the satellite usage in those countries. The Forum supports a globally harmonized solution for the provision of coverage in large areas of low population density. To fulfil this coverage demand globally harmonized sub-band, around 100 MHz should be identified for IMT within the band 470-862 MHz at WRC-07. The harmonisation achieved for IMT-2000 and the current footnotes and resolutions should be retained.

 

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