Simon Saunders' Wireless Blog: Warning from EC on current spectrum capability to deliver 5G

Insufficient spectrum available for 5G in Europe

Real Wireless analysis part of a ground-breaking EC socio-economic study

A new report issued by the European Commission warns that there will be insufficient spectrum available to deliver the potential benefits of 5G to Europe.This is the headline finding of a new analysis from Real Wireless, published as part of the landmark document "Identification and quantification of key socio-economic data to support strategic planning for the introduction of 5G in Europe".

The report hightlights that if we continue to follow the conventional dedicated spectrum allocations per operator, as much as €141 billion of benefits and 2.3 million jobs could be missed. It recommends that the challenges presented by spectrum sharing must be addressed as early as possible in the development of 5G, if the full socio-economic benefits are to be enjoyed.

The analysis examined the minimum spectrum requirements for 5G to service all users, based on traffic demand calculated from scenarios associated with three key use cases – healthcare, utilities, and motorways. It found that supporting the highly demanding applications proposed under the 5G vision, especially in the multi-gigabit connectivity environment of the motorway use case, would require larger quantities of spectrum to be available than is currently planned.

Demise of GSM-R highlights the need for radical rethinking of wireless communications in the rail industry

The International Railway Union has recently called for a replacement for the GSM-R network to be developed as a matter of urgency. GSM-R is the modified version of GSM, which was developed to meet the specific needs of the rail industry. However, the technology has had a notoriously volatile history.

This issue highlights that wireless communications continue to be a major challenge for the rail industry — and clearer strategic thinking is the only way the industry is going to solve its challenges. As our recent report Under pressure: tackling railway connectivity in 2016 outlined, on-board connectivity for passengers also remains a significant technical and commercial challenge for rail operators.

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