5G Americas, the voice of 5G and 4G LTE for the Americas, has announced the release of “Mid-Band Spectrum Update”, which discusses several potential mid-bands and extended mid-bands that are needed to support applications for 5G and beyond. Radio frequency spectrum is an essential resource since it is a crucial component of wireless technology. The mid-band spectrum, which runs between 1 GHz and 6 GHz and provides a balance of speed, capacity, coverage, and penetration for cellular wireless networks, is one of the most relevant frequency bands for 5G.
Chris Pearson, President of 5G Americas said, “For 5G deployments, it is important that low, mid and high band spectrum are utilized to provide the optimal experience for users. Mid-band spectrum plays a key role in providing both capacity and coverage that can translate to increased speed for applications and use cases.” He further said, “A long term national spectrum plan in the US will be paramount for economic and technology leadership.”
With total global demand for mobile network data traffic at 90 exabytes per month and increasing at 40 percent annually, new levels of spectral efficiency and flexibility are required by 5G and future networks. It is imperative that additional spectrum in the mid-band is allocated by governments, as it works exceptionally well for densely populated metropolitan areas where connectivity demand is high. mmWave and other high bands will also play a key role in servicing capacity demands, where offloading requirements from the mid-band spectrum can occur when and where needed.
“Mid-Band Spectrum Update” paper provides an overview of current and potential new mid-band and extended mid-band spectrum availability in the United States over the next several years, including technical characteristics and challenges, as well as policy and regulatory landscape.
Some key topics surrounding receiver standards in this 5G Americas report include:
- Mid Band Spectrum Overview
- Current and Potential New Mid-band and Extended Mid-band Spectrum
- Current and Planned Mid-band Deployment Status in the U.S
- Maximizing Utility for 5G Mid-band Spectrum
- Mid-band Spectrum Pipeline Update
Noman M Alam, Director 5G Solutions, Ericsson said, “The main challenge to allocation of new mid-band spectrum is that none of the potential bands are clear and without incumbents. Making additional mid-band spectrum available is not an easy path but it can be made possible with identification of potential bands, planning for incumbents and all of the key stakeholders cooperating in the process.”
Karri Kuoppamaki, Senior Vice President, Network Technology Development and Strategy for T-Mobile US said, “Mid-band spectrum is key for unlocking new applications and truly delivering on the promise of 5G. "It is essential to have a long-term spectrum pipeline to fuel growth in the 5G ecosystem, and this 5G Americas white paper is a good step toward understanding future potential mid-band spectrum opportunities.”
Click here to download the whitepaper “Mid-Band Spectrum Update”.
