GSA – Post MWC 2019

Mobile World Congress has come and gone for another year and Global Mobile Suppliers Association, Farnham, UK, has compiled a huge database and released reports post the event. 5G continues to be a strong industry focus and the reports are on 5G networks, technology, and spectrum – the most popular papers this year.

Evolution from LTE to 5G – Global Market Status

Evolution-LTE-5G GSA is reporting there are now 871 operators investing in LTE with 201 operators investing in 5G.

2018 saw the continued introduction of LTE to more markets and regions around the world. Although already very widely deployed, it is still being introduced and several countries have recently announced LTE services. By the end of 2018, GSA had identified 712 operators running LTE networks, providing mobile and/or fixed wireless broadband services in 213 countries worldwide. This compares with 645 operators at the end of 2017. GSA is aware of another 117 companies trialing, investing, or that have stated plans to invest in LTE. GSA forecasts that 760 to 770 operators will be running LTE networks by the end of 2019. Some details included are:

• 871 operators investing in LTE, including pre-commitment trials;
• 712 operators running LTE networks providing mobile and/or FWA services in 213 countries worldwide;
• 209 operators with TDD licenses and at least 145 operators with launched LTE-TDD networks;
• 180 commercial VoLTE networks in 87 countries and a total of 248 operators investing in VoLTE in 112 countries;
• 274 launched or launched (limited availability) LTE-Advanced networks in 122 countries; 317 operators investing in LTE-Advanced technology in 130 countries;
• Six launched networks that support user equipment (UE) at Cat-18 DL speeds within limited geographic areas (i.e., 1050–1200 Mbps peak theoretical DL throughput): 3HK, Bell Mobility, China Unicom, Singtel, Swisscom, and Turkcell;
• 760–770 anticipated commercially launched LTE networks by end-2019 (GSA forecast);
• 133 operators investing in NB-IoT in 64 countries; of these, 78 NB-IoT networks are deployed/launched in 45 countries. Fifty-seven operators are investing in LTE-M/Cat-M1 in 34 countries; of these, 30 LTE-M/Cat-M1 networks are deployed/commercially launched in 21 countries; and
• 201 operators in 83 countries have launched with limited availability, deployed, demonstrated, are testing or trialing, or have been licensed to conduct field trials of mobile 5G or FWA 5G.

For the complete report, visit, https://www.communicationstoday.co.in/Evolution From  LTE To 5G

Global 5G Status – A Snapshot

By mid-January 2019, GSA had identified 2010 operators in 83 countries, investing in 5G mobile and 5G FWA networks, in the form of tests, trials, planned and pilot deployments, and launches. (The numbers at the end of April 2018 were 154 operators in 66 countries.)

Operators have announced 524 separate demonstrations, tests, or trials that we have been able to identify (by end-November 2018)

At least 87 projects have involved testing Massive MIMO in the context of 5G (i.e., MIMO trials involving 64 or more transmitters, or lower order MIMO used on new high-frequency spectrum bands, or involving some other 5G aspects, such as new radio characteristics).

At least 26 projects explicitly are featuring network slicing.

For the complete report, please visit, https://www.communicationstoday.co.in/Global 5G Status

Networks, Technology, and Spectrum Database

The networks, technologies, and  spectrum (NTS) database can be searched by mobile broadband technology feature, UE category, downlink speed, spectrum bands used and can be segmented by region. Results are presented as a list or in charts.

There are 716 operators with commercially launched LTE networks (broadband fixed-wireless access and/or mobile). More than a hundred other companies having licenses suitable for LTE services are deploying LTE, or are planning LTE networks; and dozens of others have been evaluating, testing or trialing LTE.

• 209 operators hold licenses to use the spectrum for TDD services, 145 of which have launched services. These numbers have fallen slightly since the last report to reflect new information about company mergers and license revocations;
• 328 operators are investing in LTE-Advanced or LTE-Advanced Pro technologies, of which 284 have launched them in their commercial networks. 161 operators are known to be investing in one or more LTE-Advanced Pro technologies;
• 201 operators in 83 countries are investing in 5G mobile and 5G FWA networks in the form of tests, trials, planned and pilot deployments, and launches; and
• By the time of the database update, 180 operators had announced pre-commercial deployments or limited availability launches of non-3GPP-compliant or 3GPP-compliant launches of 5G or 5G FWA services.

For the complete report, please visit https://www.communicationstoday.co.in/Market Statistics

Spectrum for 5G Networks – Licensing Developments Worldwide

GSA is aware of 50 countries/territories that are formally considering introducing certain spectrum bands for terrestrial 5G services, and holding consultations regarding suitable spectrum allocations for 5G, have reserved spectrum for 5G, have announced plans to auction frequencies, or have already allocated spectrum for 5G use.

The report reflects a market that is in constant flux and feedback is greatly appreciated to keep it current.

Important changes include:

• Argentina: Governmental decree to open up satellite spectrum for mobile use;
• Belgium: Possible delay to 5G spectrum auctions;
• Burkina Faso: Conversion of all licenses to technology-neutral status;
• Croatia: Calls for applications to use spectrum from 2500–2690 MHz for wireless broadband services;
• Cyprus: Calls for applications to participate in an auction of spectrum at 800 MHz and 2600 MHz;
• Ghana: Completion of auction for spectrum at 800 MHz;
• Hong Kong: Completed auction of spectrum at 900 MHz and 1800 MHz, and applications requested for use of spectrum in the 26 GHz and 28 GHz bands;
• India: An update on 5G spectrum release timings;
• Latvia: Plans to redistribute spectrum from 1427–1517 MHz;
• Macau: Identified spectrum bands to be released for public mobile services, in preparation for 5G;
• Macedonia: Expressions of interest requested for a tender of the spectrum at 2100 MHz;
• Oman: Allocated 5G licenses;
• Qatar: Granted 5G licenses;
• Poland: A request to the European Commission to delay 700 MHz spectrum release to 2022;
• Saudi Arabia: Awarded licenses to use spectrum at 2300 MHz and 2600 MHz;
• Thailand: Draft rules for an auction of the spectrum at 700 MHz and a date for 2G switch-off;
• UK: Plans announced for auctions of spectrum at 700 MHz and 3600–3800 MHz, and launched a consultation on spectrum sharing for underused spectrum bands;
• Uruguay: Possible plans for 5G spectrum auctions in 2019; and.
• USA: Auction of spectrum at 28 GHz ended.

For the complete report, please visit, https://www.communicationstoday.co.in/Spectrum For Terrestrial 5G Networks Licensing Developments Worldwide

Status of the LTE ecosystem. This GSA report confirms 13,117 LTE user devices identified as launched, from 687 manufacturers, and provides an analysis of the main developments and trends. This new total is 7 percent higher than the number of devices reported by GSA in August 2018.

The 5G device ecosystem is starting to build as the first commercial 5G services (for FWA applications) are switched on. While 5G trials have used prototype user equipment (UE), commercial services need commercial devices. As these are not being produced in large volumes, details are limited, but GSA has identified the following 5G devices:

• Huawei 5G CPE mmWave (router)
• Huawei 5G CPE sub-6 GHz (router)
• Samsung SFG-D0100 (router)
• Motorola 5G Mod (smartphone clip-on 5G module/adapter)
• Netgear Nighthawk 5G Mobile Hotspot (router)

Other vendors are signposting devices to be available in 2019, including HTC (with a Qualcomm Snapdragon X50-based ‘smart hub’ router for US operator Sprint). Verizon is expected to launch a 5G NR hotspot in 2019; its 4G hotspot devices are manufactured by Inseego (formerly Novatel Wireless). As the industry gears up for major trade shows in early 2019, many more 5G devices will be announced.

For the complete report, please visit, https://www.communicationstoday.co.in/evolution-from-lte-to-5g/