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NETWORK INFRASTRUCTURE SHARING
Summary of information provided by Member States on network infrastructure sharing
Member State
Regulatory context Forms of NIS
NIS regulatory provisions before 3G licensing
NIS regulatory provisions built in 3G licensing
NIS regulatory guidelines post 3G licensing
Site sharing (including masts and antennas)
Node B sharing RNS sharing Geographical splitting
Competition context
Concrete NIS cases
Austria Yes Yes Yes Provisions for ‘mast sharing’ are described in the Austrian Tele-communications Act
Provisions for ‘antenna sharing’ are described in the 3G licensing conditions
Allowed after coverage obligations are met by ‘self-operated’ networks
‘Pre-conditions’ are found in the ‘Position Paper’. These conditions apply to the areas where there is an obligation to provide services and beyond those areas
Allowed after coverage obligations are met by ‘self-operated’ networks
‘Pre-conditions’ are found in the ‘Position Paper’. These conditions apply to the areas where there is an obligation to provide services and beyond those areas
National roaming allowed
No restrictions on regional splittingNeither the Telecommunications Act nor the 3G licensing conditions contain provisions on ‘geographical splitting’.
The national competition authority has not yet dealt with the topic
General competition law must be taken into account when considering ‘geographical splitting’
SMP considerations also play a role
None proposed yet
23 August 2002 Francisco Medeiros 1
Member State
Regulatory context Forms of NIS
NIS regulatory provisions before 3G licensing
NIS regulatory provisions built in 3G licensing
NIS regulatory guidelines post 3G licensing
Site sharing (including masts and antennas)
Node B sharing RNS sharing Geographical splitting
Competition context
Concrete NIS cases
Belgium Yes, 2G None None Regulated for GSM900 since 1995 and for GSM1800 since 1997; general legislation, applicable to all public tele-communication networks (fixed and mobile) introduced in the Telecommunication Act (law of 21 March 1991) in January 2001Database of all sites expected by end of 2001
Obligation to disclose all site locations
Not regulated (not strictly forbidden)
Subject to commercial agreement
Not regulated (not strictly forbidden).
Subject to commercial agreement
National roaming allowed
Operators may negotiate on a voluntary basis
Not yet formally requested by operators
No assessment performed yet by regulatory authority
None
Denmark Yes None None Obligation to share masts regulated in the Act on the Establishment and Joint Utilisation of Masts for Radiocommunication Purposes etc.
No No National Roaming is allowed
None
23 August 2002 Francisco Medeiros 2
Member State
Regulatory context Forms of NIS
NIS regulatory provisions before 3G licensing
NIS regulatory provisions built in 3G licensing
NIS regulatory guidelines post 3G licensing
Site sharing (including masts and antennas)
Node B sharing
RNS sharing Geographical splitting
Competition context Concrete NIS cases
Finland Yes, 2G None (based on Telecommunications Markets Act)
None Governed by the 1997 Telecommunications Markets Act
No information available
No information available
National roaming allowed
No assessment performed yet by regulatory authority
Several NIS agreements in force on a voluntary and commercial basis
France Yes, 2G Yes Clarification document being drafted.
ART’s position announced on 10 December 2001
Regulated since 1996.
Allowed and encouraged in the 3G licensing conditions
Allowed, as long as independent control is retained
Allowed, as long as independent control is retained
National roaming allowed (but does not count towards coverage obligations)
3G-2G roaming mandatory for new entrants
No assessment performed yet by the regulatory authorities (Conseil de la Concurrence)
None
Germany Yes, 2G Yes Yes Allowed Allowed, as long as independent control is retained
Allowed, as long as independent control is retained
National roaming allowed as long as roaming partners remain independent competitors
The regulatory authority needs to assess co-operation on a case-by-case basis
23 August 2002 Francisco Medeiros 3
Member State
Regulatory context Forms of NIS
NIS regulatory provisions before 3G licensing
NIS regulatory provisions built in 3G licensing
NIS regulatory guidelines post 3G licensing
Site sharing (including masts and antennas)
Node B sharing
RNS sharing Geographical splitting
Competition context Concrete NIS cases
Greece No specific NIS provisions
Only competition law applies
Yes None Allowed according to Dec. 236/79/2001 EETT OG 1649B/11-12-01
No information
available
No information
available
National roaming allowed as long as not implying the existence of only one radio access network covering significant part of the population
National roaming allowed but does not count towards coverage obligations
No assessment performed yet by regulatory authority
None to date
Ireland Yes, 2G None Site and mast sharing is encouraged
Permissible after 20% population coverage is served by wholly controlled network
Permissible after 20% population coverage is served by wholly controlled network
3G-2G roaming mandatory for new entrants
ODTR has consulted with the Competition Authority
NIS agreements likely to be proposed after end of June 2002 (completion of 3G licensing process)
23 August 2002 Francisco Medeiros 4
Member State
Regulatory context Forms of NIS
NIS regulatory provisions before 3G licensing
NIS regulatory provisions built in 3G licensing
NIS regulatory guidelines post 3G licensing
Site sharing (including masts and antennas)
Node B sharing
RNS sharing Geographical splitting
Competition context Concrete NIS cases
Italy Yes, 2G Yes (based on Telecommunication Act and 3G specific regulation)
None Governed by the 1997 Italian Telecommunication Act and 3G specific regulation
Allowed and even mandatory (at cost basis) in some cases
Allowed in principle
Allowed in principle
National roaming allowed, also with 3G frequency sharing
Geographical splitting allowed in principle, but the cases should be assessed by the relevant authorities
Coverage obligation must be met
No assessment performed yet by competition authority
The regulatory authority needs to assess co-operation on a case-by-case basis
None to date
Luxembourg Yes, 2G Yes Allowed and even mandatory, if technically possible
Not yet defined
Not yet defined
Not yet defined No assessment performed yet by regulatory authority
None
Netherlands Yes, 2G Yes
Roll out obligations cannot be met by national roaming nor by shared core networks
Yes
NMa, OPTA and V&W Memorandum of 26 September 2001
Allowed and even mandatory in some cases
Allowed, as long as independent control is retained
Allowed, as long as independent control is retained
National roaming allowed until 1 January 2007
After January 2007, allowed only for the areas not covered by roll out obligation
The regulatory authority needs to assess co-operation on a case-by-case basis
NMa, OPTA and V&W Memorandum of 26 September 2001
Ongoing negotiations with a number of operators
23 August 2002 Francisco Medeiros 5
Member State
Regulatory context Forms of NIS
NIS regulatory provisions before 3G licensing
NIS regulatory provisions built in 3G licensing
NIS regulatory guidelines post 3G licensing
Site sharing (including masts and antennas)
Node B sharing
RNS sharing Geographical splitting
Competition context Concrete NIS cases
Portugal
http:// www.anacom.pt
Yes Yes
One of the criteria in the 3G licence selection procedure
Yes
Clarification document published on 24 October 2001
Allowed
Obligation to notify sharing agreements
Obligation to disclose location of shared sites
Allowed, as long as independent control is retained
Allowed, as long as independent control is retained
National roaming not allowed up to now
No assessment performed by regulatory authority
Preliminary agreements have been established
Operators are now expected to accomplish the NIS levels put forward in their 3G proposals
In accordance with their proposals when applying to a UMTS licence, Vodafone and Optimus have established a joint towering company
Spain Yes Yes
3G-2G national roaming, though temporarily
Yes
Order CTE/601/2002 of 14 March
National roaming
Allowed Allowed. Logical separation allowing independent control of customers, core network and not requiring frequency sharing
Under study National roaming allowed between mobile operators, as long as compliance with the tender obligations are ensured
No specific requirements are foreseen, requirements of competition law are applicable
Mobile operators have expressed an interest in network infrastructure sharing and are exploring different possibilities
23 August 2002 Francisco Medeiros 6
Member State
Regulatory context Forms of NIS
NIS regulatory provisions before 3G licensing
NIS regulatory provisions built in 3G licensing
NIS regulatory guidelines post 3G licensing
Site sharing (including masts and antennas)
Node B sharing
RNS sharing Geographical splitting
Competition context Concrete NIS cases
Sweden
http://www.kkv.se
No mandatory NIS provisions
Yes None Sites, including masts may be shared without restrictions
Licensees may share up to 70% of the radio access network (RAN) infrastructure required, in which antennas are included
Licensees may share up to 70% of the radio access network (RAN) infrastructure required, in which Node B´s are included
Licensees may share up to 70% of the radio access network (RAN) infrastructure required, in which RNC´s are included
Providing national roaming is mandatory for 2G-operators under the condition that they have received a license for mobile services after the 1st July 2000 and that they have offered commercial services for 5 years or more.
The obligation to provide national roaming last for a period of 7 years.
Other roaming agreements, 3G-3G, 2G-3G and 2G-2G are voluntary.
NIS co-operation falls under the general national competition law
Vodafone– Hi3G –Orange agreement has been cleared by the NCA
Telia – Tele2 agreement has been cleared by the NCA
23 August 2002 Francisco Medeiros 7
Member State
Regulatory context Forms of NIS
NIS regulatory provisions before 3G licensing
NIS regulatory provisions built in 3G licensing
NIS regulatory guidelines post 3G licensing
Site sharing (including masts and antennas)
Node B sharing
RNS sharing Geographical splitting
Competition context Concrete NIS cases
UK Yes, laid out in the mobile PTO licence 1 granted to 2G operators. But only triggered if the licensee has significant market power (SMP)
Yes – see first column, the 3G licensees have the same mobile PTO Licence and obligations as the 2G operatorsWireless Telegraphy Act licence include provisions on facility sharing
Yes
Joint DTI, RA and OFTEL information note of May 2001 gave an outline of the issues arising from infrastructure sharing by 3G operators
Neither precluded nor imposed
Neither precluded nor imposed
Neither precluded nor imposed
National roaming possible but it does not count towards coverage obligations (80% of population by end of 2007)
Geographical splitting recognised as possibility so allows some flexibility.
3G-2G roaming mandatory for new entrants but only if the new entrant approaches either mmO2 or Vodafone
The regulatory authority needs to assess co-operation on a case-by-case basis
Benefits to consumers must outweigh lessening of competition
mmO2 and T-Mobile
1 UK: Public Telecommunication Operator Licence (PTO)
23 August 2002 Francisco Medeiros 8
NIS regulatory provisions before 3G licensing
NIS regulatory provisions built in 3G licensing
NIS regulatory guidelines post 3G licensing
Site sharing (including masts and antennas)
Node B sharing
RNS sharing Geographical splitting
Competition context Concrete NIS cases
Liechtenstein No Yes YesDecision dated 13 March 2001Memorandum dated 26 June 2001
Allowed Allowed Allowed National roaming allowed
Not applicable Not known by the Office for Communications
Norway Yes Yes Guidelines published by NPT on 15 June 2001
Allowed Allowed Allowed Not relevant for the Norwegian market
No assessment performed by competition authority
No information available
23 August 2002 Francisco Medeiros 9
Network infrastructure sharing regulatory context in individual Member States
Austria Regulatory contextAnte regulatory NIS provisions
NIS provisions in 3G award conditions Post NIS guidelines
Reference Austrian Telecommunications Act “Positionpapier zum Thema Infrastructure Sharing beim Aufbau vom Mobilfunkennetzen der 3. Generation (UMTS/IMT-2000)” dated 28 January 2002
Site and mast sharing
Mast sharing mentioned in Austrian Telecommunications Act
Obligation on owners of masts to share masts with holders of a licence for the provision of a public telecommunications service
Antenna sharing
Mandatory coverage obligations must be fulfilled by a ‘self-operated’ network i.e. the actual licensee must operate the key elements of the radio access network (RAN) and of the core network ( CN) until obligations are met as follows: 25% population coverage by end of 2003 50% population coverage by end of 2005
Node B sharingRNC sharing
Geographical splitting
Roaming 3G-3G is allowed according to the 3G licences. There are no restrictions concerning regional splitting neither in the Telecommunications Act nor in the 3G licensing conditions
23 August 2002 Francisco Medeiros 10
Belgium Regulatory contextAnte regulatory NIS provisions
NIS provisions in 3G award conditions Post NIS guidelines
Reference Art 92quinquies, §3 law of 21 March 1991 (inserted 2 January 2001)
Art 89, §5 law of 21 March 1991 (inserted 2 January 2001)
Art 5 of royal decree of 18 January 2001 fixing the ToR and procedure for 3G licensing
None
Site and mast sharing
Regulated by Art 92quinquies, §3 law of 21 March 1991
§6 requires the creation of a database of all sites eligible for sharing by the end of 2001 and obliges operators to disclose plans to set up any new sites
If the site is owned by an operator, site-sharing is mandatory
If owned by a “non operator”, sharing is subject to voluntary agreement
Antenna sharing
Not regulated, thus not strictly forbidden
Node B sharing Not regulated, thus not strictly forbiddenSubject to commercial agreement
RNC sharing Not regulated, thus not strictly forbiddenSubject to commercial agreement
Geographical splitting
Operators may negotiate national roaming agreements on a voluntary basis
Rights for 2G-3G roaming are granted to a new entrant for 8 years after the award of the 3G licence as soon as the new entrant achieves 20% population coverage
23 August 2002 Francisco Medeiros 11
Denmark Regulatory contextAnte regulatory NIS provisions
NIS provisions in 3G award conditions Post NIS guidelines
Reference Act on the Establishment and Joint Utilization of Masts for Radio- communications Purposes etc.
Act on Competitive Conditions and Consumer Interests in the Telecommunications Market
Act on Public Mobile Communications.
The regulation concerning NIS is the same as prior to the issue of 3G licences.
There are no provisions other than those mentioned in the first column.
None
Site and mast sharing
Act on the Establishment and Joint Utilization of Masts for Radio- communications Purposes etc.
Antenna sharing
Not regulated. The “Act on the Establishment and Joint Utilization of Masts for Radio- communications Purposes etc.” gives the Minister a legal foundation for extending the obligations in the act to antennas, but this posiblity has not been used.
Node B sharing Not possible
RNC sharing Not possible
Geographical splitting
National roaming allowed Operators may negotiate national roaming agreements on a voluntary basis
Rights for 2G-3G roaming are granted to a new entrant for 8 years after the award of the 3G licence as soon as the new entrant achieves 20% population coverage
23 August 2002 Francisco Medeiros 12
Finland Regulatory contextAnte regulatory NIS provisions
NIS provisions in 3G award conditions Post NIS guidelines
Reference Telecommunications Market Act 396/1997Ministerial Decision 474/1997http://www.mintc.fi/www/sivut/english/tele/statutes/index.html
None, based on the Telecommunications Market Act of 1997
None
Site and mast sharing
An operator shall, upon request, lease any free cable conduit and antenna places in masts if expedient due to environmental or regional planning reasons
Antenna sharingNode B sharingRNC sharingGeographical splitting
Possible, however the main policy is that 3G networks must have sufficient coverage to satisfy the reasonable demands of users
23 August 2002 Francisco Medeiros 13
France Regulatory contextAnte regulatory NIS provisions
NIS provisions in 3G award conditions Post NIS guidelines
Reference Law No. 96-659 of 26 July 1996, articles L47 and L48 transposing Art. 11 of ONP Directive 97/33/CE
ART guidelines issued on 10 December 2001
Site and mast sharing
Encouraged Encouraged in the 3G licence conditionsAward criterion: 2G incumbents must grant site access to new 3G entrants
Allowed and encouraged
Antenna sharing
Allowed and compatible with existing regulation
Node B sharing Allowed if control over logical Node B and active part of the equipment is retained by each operator
RNC sharing Allowed if control over logical RNC and active part of the equipment is retained by each operator
Core Network Not allowed
Frequency sharing
Not allowed
Geographical splitting
National roaming allowed but does not count towards coverage obligations and on the basis of commercial agreements that must be notified to the NRA
3G licensees that are also 2G incumbents must grant 2G-3G roaming to 3G new entrants
23 August 2002 Francisco Medeiros 14
Germany Regulatory contextAnte regulatory NIS provisions
NIS provisions in 3G award conditions Post NIS guidelines
Reference Amtsblatt BMPT Nr. 23 v. 05.12.1994, Vfg. 259.1, S. 866 ff.Amtsblatt Reg TP Nr. 4/2000, Vfg 13/2000 v. 23.02.2000, S. 535
Amtsblatt Reg TP Nr. 4/2000, Vfg 13/2000 v. 23.02.2000; Anlage 1 Teil C Punkt 2, S. 557, Teil A Punkt 1, S.556, Teil B Punkt 4.1, S.557
Guide to Interpretation of the Award Conditions In Light of More Recent Technological Advance
Site and mast sharing
Yes, already in place in the early 90s
Allowed. Sharing of cables and combiners also allowed
Antenna sharing
Yes since 1998 with cable and combiners
Yes
Fixed transmission paths
Yes Yes
SCC sharing Shared use of more than one Node B in a single Site Support Cabinet + joint maintenance
Node B sharing Use of logically distinct Node Bs in one and the same unit instead of physically distinct Node Bs allowed if control functions are retained by each licence holder and competitive independence is ensured (+ 5 preconditions)
RNC sharing Idem for RNCs, logical separation in the same physical unit
MSC sharing Not allowed because this would mean frequency pooling
Geographical splitting
Allowed but assessment on a case by case basis
23 August 2002 Francisco Medeiros 15
Greece Regulatory contextAnte regulatory NIS provisions
NIS provisions in 3G award conditions Post NIS guidelines
Reference Competition law Telecommunications Law 2867/2000Dec. 236/79/2001 EETT OJ 1649B/11-12-01
Article 6.7 §g “Co-location- Facilities and Infrastructure Sharing”
none
Site and mast sharing
Allowed Common use of equipment and infrastructure allowed but subject to notification, and decision of the EETT
Antenna sharing
Allowed after approval from EETT
Node B sharingRNC sharingCore NetworkFrequency sharing
Not allowed according to Telecommunications Law 2867/2000
Geographical splitting
National roaming allowed as long as not implying the existence of only one radio access network covering significant part of the population
23 August 2002 Francisco Medeiros 16
Italy Regulatory contextAnte regulatory NIS provisions
NIS provisions in 3G award conditions Post NIS guidelines
Reference D.P.R. 318/97 (Italian Telecommunications Act) Art. 20, para 5 and Art. 13, para 4
Decision n. 388/00/CONS of NRA (Asymmetric measures for UMTS)
None additional None up to date
Site and mast sharing
Infrastructure, equipment and site sharing subject to commercial agreement
Site and mast sharing permitted and sometimes mandatory, under cost-based conditions and under reciprocity
3G “incumbents” must offer access to 3G “new entrants”
Antenna sharing
Not addressed
Node B sharing Not addressed
RNC sharing Not addressed
MSC and RNC sharing could be very difficult to achieve technically
Geographical splitting
3G-2G roaming mandatory for the benefit of new entrants under some conditions. Commercial agreements allowed
3G operators may negotiate national roaming agreements on a voluntary and commercial basis but the cases should be assessed
Frequency sharing
All 3G operators are allowed to enter into agreements for 3G roaming (also with frequency sharing) on a commercial basis
Coverage obligation must be met with own frequencies
23 August 2002 Francisco Medeiros 17
Ireland Regulatory contextAnte regulatory NIS provisions
NIS provisions in 3G award conditions Post NIS guidelines
Reference Provisions related to radio site engineering practices, non-ionising radiation and emissions and trench sharing are encapsulated in the provisions governing 2G licenses
Document ODTR 99/70 applieshttp://www.odtr.ie/docs/odtr9970.doc
No regulatory provisions have been imposed
However, site and mast sharing was encouraged and applicants for the 4 licenses on offer were invited to commit to providing access to sites under their control
Site and mast sharing
Commitment to provide access to radio transmission sites under the Applicant's control, where it relates to at least one third of the radio transmission sites under the Applicant's current or future control and is offered on a reasonable, transparent and non-discriminatory basis, will be included in the comparative evaluation process.
Applicants are encouraged to commit to a draft Code of Practice relating to radio site and mast sharing and its development
Antenna sharing
Infrastructure sharing, with the exception of site sharing, will only be permissible when each operator concerned has established a 3G radio access network infrastructure capable of serving at least 20% of the Irish population using infrastructure which is wholly under the control or ownership of that operator
Operators are to maintain independent logical control of the network. In considering any infrastructure sharing arrangement, an operator should satisfy itself that it is in compliance with the current regulatory framework
Document ODTR 01/96 – published Dec 2001 applies http://www.odtr.ie/docs/odtr0196.doc
Node B sharingRNC sharing
Geographical splitting
3G licensees that are also 2G incumbents must grant 2G-3G
roaming to 3G new entrants
Frequency sharing
The shared use of frequencies is not permitted
23 August 2002 Francisco Medeiros 18
Luxembourg Regulatory contextAnte regulatory NIS provisions
NIS provisions in 3G award conditions Post NIS guidelines
Reference Art. 15: 2G regulatory framework Art. 14: 3G regulatory framework (new provisions for 3G but also applicable to 2G networks)
Site and mast sharing
Operators were encouraged to share, at least the site infrastructure as well as antenna masts
Operators are obliged, if technically possible, to share site infrastructure and antenna masts for environmental reasons
Antenna sharing
Additional information is not available
Node B sharing Additional information is not available
RNC sharing Additional information is not available
Geographical splitting
Not yet defined
Frequency sharing
23 August 2002 Francisco Medeiros 19
Netherlands Regulatory contextAnte regulatory NIS provisions
NIS provisions in 3G award conditions Post NIS guidelines
Reference Telecommunications Act Art. 3.11 amended before the 3G auction
Memorandum of the NMa, OPTA and V&W (Ministry): Joint construction and use of UMTS network parts of 26 September 2001
Site and mast sharing
Site and mast sharing obligation
Antenna sharing
Shortly an antenna-sharing obligation for broadcasting networks will be introduced
Node B sharingRNC sharing
Geographical splitting
Allowed until 2007, date of entry into force of roll-out obligation
From 2007 onwards, geographical splitting is allowed only for the areas not covered by roll-out obligation
National roaming allowed until 1 January 2007. As from 1 January 2007, each 3G licensee should possess its own network infrastructure in all municipalities with more than 25,000 inhabitants
Frequency sharing
Frequency sharing not allowedThe roll out obligations cannot be met through roaming
23 August 2002 Francisco Medeiros 20
Portugal Regulatory contextAnte regulatory NIS provisions
NIS provisions in 3G award conditions Post NIS guidelines
Reference Decreto Lei no. 151-A/2000 of 20 July 2000
Decreto Lei no. 290-A/1999 of 30 July 1999
Decreto Lei no. 381-A/1997 of 30 December 1997
Clarification document of 24 October 2001
Site and mast sharing
As long as technically possible, site, buildings, ancillary equipment and masts should be shared
Obligations placed upon 3G licensees to provide information about details of site sharing agreements and to disclose location of shared sites
Antenna sharing
As long as technically possible, antennas should be shared
Allowed
Node B sharing Allowed, as long as independent control of network is retained
RNC sharing Allowed, as long as independent control of network is retained
Geographical splitting
3G licensees that are also 2G incumbents must grant 2G-3G roaming to 3G new entrants during a period of 5 years counted from the date the 3G licences were granted
National roaming between 3G has been considered as a possibility for a limited period. Since 3G licensees have not yet presented a reasoned request for national roaming, it has not yet been allowed
Core network sharing
Not allowed
Frequency sharing
Not allowed
23 August 2002 Francisco Medeiros 21
Spain Regulatory contextAnte regulatory NIS provisions
NIS provisions in 3G award conditions Post NIS guidelines
Reference Base 42 del Pliego de Clausulas Administrativas (Order of 26 February 1998)
Clausula 38 de la Orden de 10 de noviembre de 1999 Orden CTE/601/2002 de 14 de marzo
Site sharing Allowed Allowed Allowed
Mast sharing Allowed Allowed Allowed
Antenna sharing
Not foreseen Not foreseen Allowed
Node B sharing Not foreseen Not foreseen Allowed, as long as functional independence between the networks is ensured
RNC sharing None None Under study
Geographical splitting
National roaming between GSM900 and GSM1800 was allowed for a maximum period of 4 years
3G licensees who also have either a GSM900 or GSM1800 licence are obliged to offer national roaming (3G-2G) to the 3G new entrants, as long as the new entrant and the incumbent operator have effectively launched 3G services
Such 3G-2G roaming agreements are valid for a maximum period of 3 years
3G-3G national roaming is not allowed under any circumstances
National roaming allowed between mobile operators, as long as compliance with the tender obligations are ensured
Frequency sharing
Not allowed Not allowed Not allowed
23 August 2002 Francisco Medeiros 22
Sweden Regulatory contextAnte regulatory NIS provisions
NIS provisions in 3G award conditions Post NIS guidelines
Reference No mandatory provisions There have been no requests for further explanations or guidelines
Site sharing GSM operators share antenna sites and masts without specific regulation applicableMast sharing
Antenna sharing
Licensees may share up to 70% of the radio access network (RAN) infrastructure required to meet the coverage obligations
The remaining 30% may not be shared and must be under full control of the licensee
Note: transmission systems and feeder lines are also covered by the same provisions
Node B sharing
RNC sharing
Geographical splitting
There are no provisions regarding regional or geographic splitting, since no NIS regulation connects to the general population coverage obligations
Frequency sharing
23 August 2002 Francisco Medeiros 23
UK Regulatory contextAnte regulatory NIS provisions
NIS provisions in 3G award conditions Post NIS guidelines
Reference Wireless Telegraphy Act Telecommunications Act
Refer to Table 1 above: 3G operators have the same Mobile PTO licence as the 2G operators. The mobile PTO licence template can be viewed athttp://www.dti.gov.uk/cii/docs/standardmobile.pdf.
BT Cellnet & Vodafone have different licences to other mobile operators. The licence for the two SMP operators contains C71 National Roaming2.
The BT Cellnet & Vodafone licence can be viewed athttp://www.dti.gov.uk/cii/docs/vodafone.pdf
Refer to Table 1 above: Oftel, DTI & RA published an information note in May 2001 entitled 3G Mobile Infrastructure Sharing in the UK.
The note gave an outline of the issues arising from infrastructure sharing by 3G operators
The note can be viewed at http://www.oftel.gov.uk/publications/mobile/infrashare0501.htm
Site sharing Neither precluded nor imposed
Mast sharing Positively encouraged Neither precluded nor imposed
Antenna sharing
Neither precluded nor imposed
Node B sharing Neither precluded nor imposed
RNC sharing Neither precluded nor imposed
Geographical splitting
Recognised as a possibility in the joint DTI, RA and OFTEL information note of May 2001
Coverage obligations require 3G licensees to cover 80% of the population by 31 December 2007. This leaves a 10% geographic area outside the coverage obligations; national roaming is allowed over this 10% geographic area
Frequency sharing
2 UK: Condition 71.1 refers, it obliges the operator to enter into negotiations with a 2G new entrant (licenses granted after 1/4/99) if requested to do so by the new entrant
23 August 2002 Francisco Medeiros 24
Liechtenstein Regulatory contextAnte regulatory NIS provisions
NIS provisions in 3G award conditions Post NIS guidelines
Reference None Articles 33 and 38 of the terms of the 3G licenses Decision on the conditions for the roll-out of 3G networks of 13 March 2001 and further explanatory memorandum of 26 June 2001
Requirements Virtually any form of radio access network infrastructure sharing is allowed (core network not allowed) because the competition will not be over infrastructure but over services
Environmental concerns are the main reason to allow any form of RAN sharing
Site Sharing Obligation to share existing 2G and 3G sites
Mast sharingYes
Antenna sharing Obligation to share antennas are applicable to all
licensees, whenever possible
Node B sharing Allowed Radio Access Network may be shared
RNC sharing Allowed Radio Access Network may be shared
Core Network Not allowed
Geographical splitting
Allowed
Frequency sharing
23 August 2002 Francisco Medeiros 25
Norway Regulatory contextAnte regulatory NIS provisions
NIS provisions in 3G award conditions Post NIS guidelines
Reference Criteria for “beauty contest” Art. 3.2.4
Art. 13 of the 3G licence Guidelines published by NPT on 15 June 2001
http://www.npt.no/no/Nyheter/deling_av_infrastruktur_umts.html
Requirements The licensee may share network components with another provider of access to a public mobile communications network in order to meet the coverage requirements. However, each provider’s network must appear as a separate network
Providers are obliged to build separate networks Core Network (MSC) sharing not allowed
Site and mast sharing
Allowed
Antenna sharing
Allowed
Node B sharing RNC and Node B may be physically shared but operators must retain logical control over their networks
RNC sharing
Geographical splittingFrequency sharing
Spectrum sharing not allowed within geographical area covered by deployment obligations
23 August 2002 Francisco Medeiros 26