Brazil Leads on Spectrum Re-Farming for the Deployment of Next-Generation Mobile Broadband Services

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Aug 17, 2010, 06:00 ET

LONDON, Aug. 17 /PRNewswire/ -- The GSMA today congratulated ANATEL, the Brazilian telecommunications regulator, for taking a leadership position on spectrum re-farming. ANATEL's decision to re-allocate spectrum in the technology neutral 2.6 GHz band to support the nationwide deployment of next-generation Mobile Broadband services will provide mobile operators in Brazil with a clear future investment path for the country's mobile network infrastructure.

ANATEL's decision is also consistent with the ITU's Option 1(i) for international 2.6GHz spectrum harmonisation, currently being followed by the majority of mobile operators worldwide. This ensures that Brazil will follow a standardised approach to global Mobile Broadband deployment, safeguarding technology compatibility and network handover capabilities. Spectrum harmonisation in this band means that Brazilian operators will benefit from the vast economies of scale that the GSM ecosystem offers, driving down equipment and device costs, which can be passed on to customers.

"We are delighted that ANATEL has made the decision to re-farm the 2.6GHz spectrum band to support the provision of next generation Mobile Broadband services across Brazil," said Tom Phillips, Chief Government and Regulatory Affairs Officer, GSMA. "Other countries such as Mexico, Nigeria, Saudi Arabia and South Africa would benefit from similar rulings whereby existing spectrum is intelligently re-allocated for Mobile Broadband deployment as part of global spectrum harmonisation, driving widespread socio-economic benefits for governments and consumers and generating additional revenue for operators."

Brazil's 2.6GHz spectrum band had previously been allocated to MMDS operators to support pay-per-view TV services. This ruling will not impact these operators, who will keep 70MHz(ii) of spectrum (50 MHz of TDD and 2 X 10 MHz of FDD). ANATEL's decision does mean that the country's mobile operators will benefit from the majority of this spectrum, stating that 120MHz should be auctioned off by mid-2013(iii). Mobile operators in Brazil also have the option of deploying LTE immediately, should they acquire an MMDS operator currently holding spectrum licenses.

Ensuring the necessary spectrum is available will pave the way for Brazilian operators to follow the clear upgrade path from existing HSPA technology, which continues to enjoy impressive growth across Brazil, to LTE. Both HSPA and LTE are members of the GSM family of technologies and provide impressive Mobile Broadband service delivery and performance. By combining the two technologies and leveraging the vast global GSM ecosystem, Brazil will have at its disposal a cost-effective broadband network capable of supporting the expected increase in traffic that will result from hosting major global events such as the 2014 FIFA World Cup and the 2016 Olympics.

About the GSMA

The GSMA represents the interests of the worldwide mobile communications industry. Spanning 219 countries, the GSMA unites nearly 800 of the world's mobile operators, as well as more than 200 companies in the broader mobile ecosystem, including handset makers, software companies, equipment providers, Internet companies, and media and entertainment organisations. The GSMA is focused on innovating, incubating and creating new opportunities for its membership, all with the end goal of driving the growth of the mobile communications industry.

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(i) ITU Option 1 (ITU-R M.1036-3), for 2.6GHz spectrum allocation dictates that 2 X 70 MHz FDD (2500 MHz-2570 MHz paired with 2620 MHz-2690 MHz) be allocated to Mobile Broadband deployment and 50 MHz is allocated to TDD (2570 MHz to 2620 MHz).

(ii) MMDS operators will, according to the resolution, have both 50MHz TDD as well as 20MHz FDD spectrum (2 X 10 MHz, in the form of 2500 MHz-2510 MHz paired with 2620 MHz-2630 MHz).

(iii) The auctions will most likely see 3 licenses of 2 X 20 MHz being made available.

SOURCE GSMA