Optimising Spectrum Utilisation towards 2020

FutureWorks NSN White paper March 2014

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CONTENTS

Executive Summary 3

Introduction 5

Exclusive access remains top priority 7

Authorised/Licensed Shared Access - a new complementary licensing scheme

8

Co-Primary shared access - primarily for future small cell deployments

12

Traffic offloading to unlicensed spectrum 13

Conclusions 14

References 14

Abbreviations 15

Disclaimer This paper summarises research and studies conducted by NSN. The studies have been performed with the utmost care, and the results are to the best of our knowledge. However, this document cannot be used to derive contractual obligations of any kind.

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Executive SummaryMobile and wireless communication networks will need to cope with the tremendous increase in data traffic anticipated over the next decade. Spectrum can be looked upon as the real estate for Mobile Broadband (MBB) in addressing this challenge. Beyond the levers of increased network densification and enhanced spectral efficiency more radio spectrum is clearly needed for mobile networks to fulfil capacity and coverage demands. In Europe, a total of around 600 MHz of spectrum is currently allocated to MBB, and significantly more additional spectrum will be needed towards 2020. Spectrum between 400 MHz and 6 GHz is best suited for mobile applications as lower bands would require antennas too large to be integrated into mobile devices, and higher bands would limit cell sizes. This entire range of “good” spectrum, however, is already allocated to a number of different services and technologies, such as broadcast, aeronautical, satellite, defence, public safety and other commercial and non-commercial services; many of which do not utilise the spectrum intensively. There are several ways to get more spectrum for mobile networks. ‘Clearing the spectrum’, i.e., moving non-MBB services away from their currently allocated spectrum bands is one straightforward way to free up more exclusive spectrum for MBB use. This has been best practice over the years, and will continue to be the preferred option for cellular mobile networks. In most cases, however, clearing spectrum requires significant investment and/or lengthy development time.

In some cases spectrum sharing may be, cost-wise and time-wise, a very efficient means to gain at least partial access to additional spectrum resources for MBB use. Mobile networks are based on predictable quality of service; therefore it is required that sufficient control mechanisms be implemented when applying spectrum sharing. Authorized Shared Access (ASA), also known as Licensed Shared Access (LSA) is a new regulatory concept that allows license holders (incumbents) to share spectrum with other service providers, under well-defined conditions. There are bands in which utilisation of spectrum is currently very low in time and/or location, thus offering attractive options for both the incumbent and an ASA/LSA user. Co-primary sharing is another concept designed to enable sharing between primary users of the spectrum, e.g., between several mobile operators. Here, potentially attractive scenarios include small cell deployments, which have low transmission powers and where consequently cross-interference between cells is typically low.

Some radio technologies such as Wi-Fi and Bluetooth are designed to use unlicensed spectrum. Everyone can access unlicensed spectrum anywhere within the requirements defined for the specific spectrum band, such as transmission masks and limited transmit power. Such technologies promise the most flexible sharing, which comes at the expense of uncontrolled service quality. Wi-Fi works very well in many places providing fixed or portable LAN-type connectivity and enabling

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local traffic offload for mobile devices. However, the challenge of Wi-Fi is in situations when many congested and uncoordinated stations try to use the spectrum at the same time in the same location. As unlike in cellular systems there is no central resource management, unlicensed sharing can run into ‘traffic jams’, even to the point where the system throughput is reduced close to zero. More radical approach for optimizing unlicensed spectrum usage is LTE Unlicensed (LTE-U). It is a technology that enables using LTE in the unlicensed spectrum. The first proposals were presented in 3GPP RAN Technical Specifications Group #62 plenary (December 2013). LTE-U would provide an alternative, and more integrated, deployment scenario to increase traffic in LTE networks instead of offloading to Wi-Fi.

A combination of exclusive spectrum and shared solutions could meet the needs of mobile network operators towards and beyond 2020. We expect these approaches during the next 10 years to increase the total amount of spectrum resources below 6 GHz to at least a total of 1500 MHz. Considering the various spectrum regulatory schemes and future MBB needs, NSN’s recommendations can be summarised as follows:

• Exclusive Spectrum Access has top priority for 3GPP Radio Access Technologies (RATs) and additional spectrum (e.g. UHF 700 MHz, lower C-band) should be allocated and put into use without delay.

• Authorised/Licensed Shared Access (ASA/LSA) can unlock additional spectrum for LTE use. A good example is the 2.3 GHz band in Europe, given that this band already supports MBB deployments in other regions, thus contributing to global spectrum harmonisation, and providing economies of scale. Another interesting band for ASA/LSA and small cells is 3.5 GHz band in US.

• In the longer term we expect that there will be significant economical benefits to be gained from various co-primary sharing scenarios. Shared use in the upper C-band could enable wider bandwidths, and maximise spectrum usage within small cell deployments.

• In the macro cellular domain, joint integrated broadcast-broadband multimedia networks could lead to optimized solutions for the use of the lower UHF (470-694 MHz) spectrum.

• Offloading mobile device traffic from cellular coverage to unlicensed spectrum can significantly contribute to meeting future capacity challenges. Traffic steering between 3GPP RAT and operator-controlled Wi-Fi access will be based on policies in the device and on directives from the network. LTE Unlicensed may open an event more efficient and better integrated way to offload traffic from cellular networks.

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IntroductionMobile broadband networks face a tremendous increase in data traffic volumes over the next 20 years. In order to meet this need, large amounts of spectrum will be a key prerequisite for any radio access network evolution. To satisfy this demand, network operators will need new spectrum allocations on the one hand and, on the other, ways of utilising spectrum more efficiently. For this latter purpose there are a number of technology features and capabilities which NSN considers to be greatly beneficial in optimising the utilisation of available spectrum. Examples include MIMO, CoMP, Smart Scheduling, Carrier Aggregation, Beamforming, Network Densification and Inter-Cell Interference Cancellation. Such features are further described in an NSN white paper [1].

Deployment strategies for different spectrum bands are relatively straightforward. Frequency bands below 1 GHz are in key position for network coverage. The amount of this coverage spectrum is very limited and typically as of today there are only 10 MHz carriers available per operator. Additional coverage spectrum can be made available by clearing spectrum from terrestrial TV broadcast, like it has been done in Europe for 800 MHz band and is under way for global harmonization of the 700 MHz band. In longer term, this should continue also into bands below 700 MHz. The next step in the Heterogeneous Networks (HetNets) is to increase network capacity using additional spectrum (e.g. 1800/1900, 2100 and 2600 MHz bands) and adding more macro and micro base stations. These bands provide a lot of capacity as they typically provide 20 MHz carrier bandwidths or more. In longer term, e.g. lower C-band (3400-3600 MHz) and higher C-band (3600-3800 MHz) would be ideal for small cell deployments, offering even larger amounts of spectrum and thus enabling very high capacity dense small cell layer on top of existing HetNet. Deployment strategies for HetNets are described in detailed in NSN white paper [2].

Spectrum sharing techniques can be used to optimise spectrum utilisation and, more importantly, to provide opportunities for operators to access additional spectrum, which is typically allocated

Overall Efficiency

We cannot generate new spectrum, but we can optimize its use!

Coverage

800/850, 900, 700, UHF FDD, 10M BW macro

Complementary

Capacity

1800/1900, 2100/AWS, 2600 20M BW light HetNet

Densification

2600, 3500, 2300 TDD, >20M BW dense HetNet

2300: ASA/LSA 3500: Co-primary 2400, 5000+: Unlicensed spectrum sharing

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to other radio services and thus not available via traditional exclusive licensing. This way different spectrum sharing options are complementing network capacity.

The figure below provides an exemplary roadmap showing how spectrum use by MBB could evolve in Europe towards the year 2020. Here, beside the evolution of classic exclusive use (yellow colour) new sharing options involving ASA/LSA at 2300 MHz and co-primary sharing in the upper C-band, (light grey colour) can contribute significantly after 2015. Furthermore, the roadmap indicates (dark grey colour) potential long term co-primary usage options in the Lower UHF bands (470–694 MHz) which are currently allocated to broadcast services on a primary basis. As illustrated, a total of 1500 MHz could be made available for MBB during the next 10 years and spectrum sharing techniques will provide an important contribution. Furthermore, it is expected that in the upcoming World Radiocommunications Conference 2015 (WRC-15) even some additional bands not listed here will be identified for IMT.

Ultimately, the availability of spectrum and the efficiency of its usage contribute fundamentally to the achievable capacity and performance of radio networks. Furthermore, affordability is crucial, so the harmonisation of radio frequency bands will remain important to ensure economies of scale, to facilitate roaming and to minimise interference across borders. NSN believes that spectrum harmonisation should be a key policy objective in line with ITU-R recommendations.

Total Amount of Spectrum [MHz]

0

500

1000

1500

800 + 900 1800 + 2100

2600

700

Lower C-Band

ASA@2300 MHz

700

Lower C-Band

ASA@2300 MHz

Upper C-Band

Lower UHF Band

800 + 900 1800 + 2100

2600

800 + 900 1800 + 2100

2600

2010+ 2015+ 2020+

Example spectrum roadmap for Mobile Broadband highlighting the key bands in Europe

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Exclusive access remains top priorityExclusive access is the traditional means of making spectrum available to cellular network operators. Exclusivity promotes operators’ long term investment in large scale networks and guarantees high quality services. Licenses are granted by National Regulatory Authorities (NRAs) in accordance with national laws and rules, either directly following an operator’s application, through a ‘beauty contest’ procedure, or through an auction. Auctions have been the most common mechanism employed over the last decade. The licensee has the sole right to use this spectrum according to the assignment rules, either on a nationwide basis or within a defined geographical region, over a significantly long period of time, e.g. 20 years. It is commonly acknowledged that such exclusive use of dedicated spectrum will continue to be the preferred way of spectrum usage by MBB cellular operators.

Over the next few years, the core 3GPP bands of 900, 1800, 2100 and 2600 MHz will be used for new LTE networks and HSPA network capacity upgrades. Deployments in the 800 MHz band will then help to provide ubiquitous mobile broadband availability. In the World Radio Conference WRC-07 new spectrum for IMT was identified, and in the recent WRC-12 the 700 MHz band received a co-primary allocation to the mobile service in Region 1 effective immediately after WRC-15 and identified for IMT. Additionally, a new agenda item was opened towards the next WRC-15 with the goal of considering additional primary spectrum allocations to the mobile service, and identification

600 1100 1600 2100 2600 3100 3600

Europe

600 1100 1600 2100 2600 3100 3600

USA

600 1100 1600 2100 2600 3100 3600

China

600 1100 1600 2100 2600 3100 3600

Japan

600 1100 1600 2100 2600 3100 3600

Korea

FDD FDD&TDD MBB, no band plan yet MSS TDD Frequencies in MHz

Summary of IMT/MBB frequency bands

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for IMT. Soon after WRC-15, frequency licenses and subsequent deployments in the 700 MHz band are expected after 2015 across ITU Region 1.

For a long-term vision one can also think about a more optimised utilisation of the entire remaining UHF band (470-694MHz). Given the fact that broadcast services need in any case to expand their offerings towards handheld mobile devices it is straightforward to envisage combined networks in the future providing converged broadcast and broadband services. These would enable much more efficient use of the UHF band below 700 MHz by flexibly switching and sharing the spectrum and simultaneously avoiding the currently underutilised TV White Spaces. Here, new primary allocations to MBB services, combined with the existing allocation to TV broadcasting services, could lead to future integrated multimedia solutions for joint TV broadcast and mobile broadband offerings, potentially creating a new ‘sweet spot’ spectrum range. Such compelling options could also create new win-win solutions for both broadcasting and mobile broadband convergence and contribute (e.g. in Europe) to a long-term strategic policy on the future use of the UHF bands. Initial concepts have already been studied and are in ongoing discussion within various bodies and institutions, including the European Commission, e.g. in its mandate to ECC Task Group 6.

Authorised/Licensed Shared Access - a new complementary licensing schemeEven though dedicated spectrum for exclusive use remains the ‘gold standard’, and the preferred option to address the expected demand of future mobile broadband , it is also vital to use all available spectrum as efficiently as possible, This may result in sharing it with other services. Many bands already host important services that must have access to spectrum but do not necessarily use it fully. A number of bands are used only partially in time and/or location. For example, spectrum allocated to defence organisations might only be required in a few geographic locations, with the potential for it to

862

470

694

790

Linear Broadcast Unicast

470-694 MHz

White text against mid gray is a little difficult to read

2020+ Longer term vision: Convergence of DTT & MBB? Requires further work on technology, regulatory and business models

700 MHz

2015+ Near term opportunity: 700 MHz band for LTE (3GPP band 28) 700 MHz can substantially contribute to broadband / Digital Agenda targets

700 MHz Band starting 2015/16

Digital Dividend since 2010

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be made available to MBB in other parts of a given country. Similarly, other spectrum might only be required by licensees for use at specific events at certain times of the year, and could at other times be made available to other parties.

New emerging cognitive technologies make it possible to share spectrum by using radio environmental awareness techniques and interference management, which allow multiple systems to occupy the same spectrum. In order that such capabilities can be realised new regulatory approaches will be needed that allow more flexible, shared spectrum usage.

Authorized Shared Access (ASA), as being defined and reframed by RSPG1 as Licensed Shared Access (LSA) is a regulatory approach to allow spectrum sharing under well-defined conditions. ASA/LSA provides a solution for bands that cannot easily be vacated by their incumbent users, but where actual spectrum usage is underutilized and infrequent. The concept was originally proposed by an industry consortium under the name “Authorised Shared Access”.

Through this new access model a primary license holder (incumbent) would grant spectrum access rights to one or more other users which may then use the band under specific service conditions. Conditions defining how the spectrum may be used would be subject to individual agreements, and to permission from the NRA. The NRA would be expected to issue licenses to one, or a very limited number of mobile operators that would allow them to use specific bands as ASA/LSA licensees. Thereby orthogonal usage by time or location should always be coordinated between the operators and the incumbent in order that a certain level of performance predictability can be realised. This setting will provide predictable levels of service quality – thus strengthening motivation for investment in infrastructure compared to the scenario where usage is made available under a license-exempt scheme such as a TV White Spaces concept.

ASA/LSA is a valuable spectrum optimisation tool, as it aims to balance the needs of legacy spectrum users with those of operators, and it enables timely availability and licensed use of harmonised spectrum with predictable QoS. A major benefit envisioned with ASA/LSA is that the number of ASA/LSA licensees is limited, and that these ASA/LSA licensees are known to each other. Interference issues, if any, could be resolved and avoided either statically, through cooperative planning, or dynamically, through the use of common database access and cognitive radio technologies. Thus, in time, the concept may further evolve to embrace even more dynamic sharing principles.

The basic ASA/LSA concept is depicted in the diagram below. Based on a commercial sharing agreement the incumbent would lay down the data regarding the exact frequency bands, the locations where, and time when the frequency is available to the licensee in an

1 The Radio Spectrum Policy Group (RSPG) and the European Commission largely adopted and generalised the concept but renamed it to ‘Licensed Shared Access’ where ASA is framed within LSA

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ASA/LSA Repository. The ASA/LSA Controller manages the access to the spectrum based on rules built upon ASA/LSA rights of use and information on the incumbent’s use provided by the Repository. It retrieves information about available shared spectrum from the Repository through a secure and reliable communication path and propagates the permission or prohibition of use of the shared spectrum to the radio access network (RAN) and takes care for the right configuration of the corresponding parameters in the MNO’s network, i.e. which base stations can make use of the ASA/LSA frequencies at what power levels and which base stations are not allowed to do so.

An important design principle is that the ASA/LSA Controller is fully inside the domain of the MNO’s network. The reasons for this and that not an external controller configures the network parameters include:

• Such configuration process requires deep insights into the MNO’s radio access network.

• Such configuration requires access to information that is business sensitive for the MNO.

• There are many parameters to be configured taking into account the entire network layout and interactions of Base Stations, which is best managed by the MNO also in order to avoid a real danger of “mis-configuration”.

• The MNO must have control to optimize the traffic in its network.

• There are various internal elements to a network that an externally managed Controller cannot and should not oversee.

However, the licensee should be responsible for compliance with technical requirements obtained from the incumbent such as meeting certain interference thresholds. This can best be accomplished via the Controller under the full control of the network operator. There could also be multiple ASA/LSA Controllers for each ASA/LSA licensee and the Controller can interface with one or multiple ASA/LSA Repositories.

Basic ASA/LSA Concept

Commercial sharing agreement under

permission of the Regulator

Regulator

Incumbent ASA/LSA Licensee

ASA/LSA Repository

ASA/LSA Controller

MNO network

Incumbent

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In consideration of concrete ASA/LSA frequencies the 2300-2400MHz band is especially attractive because it is already an IMT band recommended by the ITU-R and is in use in some countries, e.g. in Asia, and is also specified as band 40 in 3GPP. It is widely supported in terminals including first attractive multi-mode multi band smart phones. In Europe this band is a good candidate for ASA/LSA as it is used in many countries limited in geography and/or time for e.g. governmental applications, including defence or wireless cameras. Through ASA/LSA it could be utilized for IMT/MBB at least locally or on a scheduled basis in countries where it is currently blocked entirely thus contributing to global spectrum harmonisation. Standardization activities on the ASA/LSA concept are taking place in ETSI RRS and initial discussions on potentially available spectrum with incumbents are already ongoing. In US spectrum sharing is also heavily discussed e.g. for 3550-3650 MHz band that is currently used by incumbent Federal Government radar systems and commercial fixed satellite systems. In 2012, the FCC made a first 3-Tier proposal for the prioritization of the users. NSN has been actively working with the FCC, NTIA, operators and incumbents to show the benefits of ASA/LSA in order to make shared spectrum use attractive for mobile network operators.

First ASA/LSA implementations can be envisaged in the near future as first live network trials have already taken place with commercial base station products. World 1st on air ASA/LSA trial took place in Finland September 2013 [3]. Trial was carried out with NSN Single RAN Flexi MultiRadio 10 Base Stations, commercial Core Network and NetAct network management system. Trial included full ecosystem, national spectrum regulator, incumbent and operator as well as the key control elements, ASA/LSA Controller and ASA/LSA Repository. Initial trial in the same environment was shown already at May, and before that NSN has been successfully demonstrating ASA/LSA concept with simulation demos e.g. at Mobile World Conference February 2013.

Recently Plum consulting conduct a study, jointly tasked by Ericsson, NSN and Qualcomm, on the economical benefits by implementing ASA/LSA in 2.3 GHz band in Europe. Plum quantifies the immediate economic benefit of opening the 2.3 GHz band in Europe by €12bn over the period to 2030. Additionally, this would foster growth in adjacent sectors and drive innovation along the entire communications value chain with new services. The study shows that there will be potential demand for spectrum at 2.3 GHz to support future mobile broadband traffic i.e. that demand will exceed current and planned future spectrum supply in many locations. Without ASA/LSA only a minority of countries in Europe would be able to offer access to the 2.3 GHz band. In particular, an ECC harmonisation measure could not be implemented without ASA/LSA. The resulting market would not be sufficiently big for major operators to deploy the band and for vendors to manufacture European handsets supporting the band [4].

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Co-Primary shared access - primarily for future small cell deploymentsCo-Primary shared access refers to a spectrum access model where primary license holders of a similar regulatory status (i.e. MBB operators) agree on joint use of parts of their licensed spectrum. This could also include mutual renting of licensed spectrum. The exact usage conditions (policies) would be laid down in commercial agreements between spectrum holders; subject, where necessary, to permission from the NRA.

Such Co-Primary Shared Access models together with cognitive radio access capabilities can enable higher peak data rates for end users as well as higher capacity and wider coverage. Temporary imbalances between data demand and the amount of available spectrum could be better equalized between cooperating network operators and thus lead to better spectrum utilisation than would be achieved by rigidly dividing the band up between several operators. Cross-interference can be avoided, or at least minimized by the use of shared databases and cognitive technologies applied directly between the participating Co-primary partners. In small cell deployments in particular the coverage areas are typically very limited, which also means that interference from a cell is limited to a short range. Therefore, the same chunk of spectrum can potentially be reused e.g. in neighbouring buildings without causing harmful cross-interference. As roughly 80% of all mobile broadband traffic is consumed indoors, it becomes essential to deploy not only outdoor but also indoor small cells in order to take advantage of short link distances and low penetration loss, to provide high data rates at the exact locations where the demand is highest. Such indoor small cells can be deployed e.g. via LTE at 3.5GHz. In particular, new 3.5GHz spectrum for small cells is a key requirement in attaining the MBB capacity needed from 2020 onwards.

Another spectrum access scheme of a similar category but without the need for exclusive licenses per operator is the so-called light-licensing scheme. It refers to a simplified procedure implemented by an NRA when issuing a spectrum usage authorisation (as opposed to a full-blown license) for a chunk or pool of spectrum to a limited group of mutually

Co-primary sharing

Small cells should share the spectrum in all domains and adapt to the environment to maximize local area capacity

Sharing in time

Sharing in space

Sharing in frequency

Spectrum sharing over multiple networks

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known users (e.g. operators). The band is then shared between this group in some agreed way, e.g. in time, in space, and/or in frequency, with pooling rules (policies) being a priori known.

Traffic offloading to unlicensed spectrumAs noted earlier, mobile broadband traffic seems likely to continue to nearly double every year, driven particularly by the increasing penetration and usage of tablet devices and smartphones. A significant part of this traffic will be local indoor traffic and will go through unlicensed frequency bands wherever available and accessible. Unlicensed radio currently offers up to 500 MHz of spectrum (2.4GHz and 5GHz) for open access, with even further bandwidth at 5GHz potentially available in the next couple of years. While Wi-Fi further evolves into High Efficiency WLAN (HEW) is expected to provide higher peak rates and throughput per area in dense scenarios. At the same time, LTE for unlicensed bands may offer an event more efficient and better integrated option to offload traffic into unlicensed spectrum.

MBB operators can take advantage of unlicensed spectrum for the offload of large amounts of traffic from their base stations and backbones. 3GPP has standardized ANDSF interfaces that allow an operator to give Wi-Fi network selection policies to the terminals and define to the terminals when and where to use 3GPP and Wi-Fi networks. For full exploitation of these opportunities, however, there is a clear need to provide seamless connectivity and continuity functionalities, thus achieving a sort of expanded macro network capacity, with traffic offload to, and from unlicensed bands. NSN is researching algorithms for traffic steering between LTE and Wi-Fi. Essential benefits include the fact that short distance Wi-Fi connections will provide faster data speeds, and will offer the opportunity to take away a bulk of (primarily indoor) traffic from MBB access and backbone networks, thus ensuring that cellular network capacity is reserved for high-value traffic. Care should be taken considering that unlicensed bands may become totally overloaded, especially at 2.4GHz, by the vast amount of devices seeking access. LTE on unlicensed spectrum would open an alternative deployment scenario and it would be fully integrated into LTE network. Carrier Aggregation enables flexible way to take additional spectrum resources into LTE use by combining those with licensed carrier. Supplemental downlink would be an option to increase downlink capacity and secondary cell would enhance both downlink and uplink. Unlicensed spectrum is setting the limitations to output power, but that is in line with small cell deployments. In some regions there are additional limitations like listen before talk (LBT) feature that would need standardization. For the smooth operation, 3GPP should address the band sharing with other un-licensed technologies.

Unlicensed will also need more spectrum bandwidth in order to keep pace with the expected traffic growth, which may be even more severe for local indoor applications. In this case, new future spectrum

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opportunities could arise in the mmWave area e.g. at 60 GHz, where up to 9 GHz of spectrum is already allocated to unlicensed usage. Forthcoming equipment conforming to the IEEE 802.11ad standard will allow unlicensed usage within this band. Due to their very high operating frequencies only short distances (mostly indoor) can be covered with such options.

ConclusionsWith the current trend of near-doubling every year, over the next decade MBB traffic may grow by a factor of 1000. NSN has identified spectrum usage as one of the three key steps in upgrading today’s networks to handle this growth. As we cannot open sufficient new exclusive MBB spectrum we must also strive for optimised use of spectrum by all radio services involved. Even if exclusive spectrum will remain the preferred option for MBB this must be complemented by new options for sharing spectrum. Both strategies together can be expected to fulfil the additional radio spectrum needs of future mobile networks in coping with the rapidly increasing capacity demand.

NSN is carrying out intensive research into spectrum utilisation, as well as participating in collaborative projects on spectrum sharing, such as CoMoRa, CORE+ and METIS. These activities have already achieved significant milestones, including an ASA/LSA demo at Mobile World Conference 2013 and the world’s first live network ASA/LSA trial using 2.3 GHz spectrum. NSN is also actively participating in ASA/LSA regulation and standardization e.g. in ECC, FCC and ETSI.

The anticipated level of traffic growth undoubtedly presents a challenge, but NSN is confident that the approaches outlined in this paper, augmented by our extensive contributions through innovation and research, can help mobile network operators turn this challenge into opportunities.

References[1] NSN white paper – ‘Enhance mobile networks to deliver 1000

times more capacity by 2020’ http://nsn.com/sites/default/files/document/tv2020_1000x_capacity_wp.pdf

[2] NSN white paper – ‘Deployment Strategies for Heterogeneous Networks’ http://nsn.com/sites/default/files/document/nsn_deployment_strategies_for_heterogeneous_networks_white_paper.pdf

[3] NSN press release, September 26, 2013 – ‘NSN demonstrates world’s first Authorized Shared Access field trial with TD-LTE spectrum’ http://nsn.com/news-events/press-room/press-releases/nsn-demonstrates-world-s-first-authorized-shared-access-field-trial-with-td-lte-spectrum

[4] Plum consulting – ‘The economic benefits of LSA in 2.3 GHz in Europe’ http://www.plumconsulting.co.uk/publications

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Abbreviations3GPP Third Generation Partnership Project

ASA Authorised Shared Access

CR Cognitive Radio

CoMoRa German national funded research project

CoMP Coordinated Multi-Point

CORE+ Finnish national funded research project

CRN Cognitive Radio Networks

ECC Electronic Communications Committee

ETSI European Telecommunications Standards Institute

EU European Union

FCC Federal Communications Commission

HetNet Heterogeneous Networks

HEW High Efficiency WLAN

IEEE Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers

IMT International Mobile Telecommunications

ITU-R International Telecommunication Union – Radio communication sector

LAN Local Area Network

LSA Licensed Shared Access

LTE Long Term Evolution

LTE-U LTE Unlicensed

MBB Mobile Broad Band

METIS Mobile and wireless communications Enablers for the Twenty-twenty Information Society project

MIMO Multiple-Input/Multiple-Output

NRA National Regulatory Authority

NSN Nokia Solutions and Networks

QoS Quality of Service

RAN Radio Access Network

RAT Radio Access Technology

RRS Reconfigurable Radio Systems

RSPG Radio Spectrum Policy Group

UHF Ultra High Frequency

Wi-Fi Wireless Fidelity

WLAN Wireless Local Area Network

WRC World Radio Conference

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