Ofcom says LTE will support fivefold efficiency gains
Combined with small cell networks, these improvements will make 2012 spectrum auctions sufficient for now
Published: 13 May, 2011
READ MORE: Spectrum | UK | Regulator | LTE
Improved spectral efficiency and small cells will be key to supporting the mobile data explosion, says a report from UK regulator Ofcom. The agency believes LTE will deliver 3.3 times more spectral efficiency in its first generation and 5.5 times by 2020. But to support the capacity requirements of new data applications, these advances will not be enough on their own and the use of dense networks of small cells will be a key strategy.
Ofcom was responding to a call, from the UMTS Forum, for more spectrum to be released in Europe to support mobile broadband. Based on forecasts from iDate, the Forum said mobile traffic would grow 33fold between 2010 and 2020, to hit 127 exabytes - running on over one billion devices by 2016. The Forum's chairman, Jean Pierre Bienaimé, called for new bands, notably the satellite C Band, to be opened up.
Ofcom, like other national EU regulators, believes its plans are adequate for the near term, given the improvements in efficiency and network planning envisaged for 4G. In a statement, the UK agency said the 800MHz and 2.6GHz auctions, scheduled for next year, will provide much of the capacity needed, equating to 75% of the total mobile spectrum available today. However, it did say these auctions would provide "some" of the requirements, hinting at further allocations later in the decade.
But it stressed that regulators did not bear all the burden of supporting the data boom, but operators and their suppliers would need to contribute technology advances, notably intelligent network planning. "Mobile networks will also need to be designed intelligently to ensure the best use of spectrum. In particular, the research anticipates a greater use of small cells to meet demand in specific areas," said Ofcom's statement.
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