The GSMA provided the position of the mobile industry in the Regional Forum on Optimization and Efficient Use of Spectrum organized by ITU in the Latin-American Telecommunications Congress 2015
Mobile networks are today the main method of Internet access in Latin America. However, mobile traffic is growing faster than forecasted and, if more spectrum is not assigned in the near future, this will have a serious impact on mobile services. This conclusion was reached at the “Regional Forum on Optimization and Efficient Use of Spectrum”, organized yesterday by the International Telecommunication Union (ITU) in the framework of the Latin-American Telecommunications Congress 2015 (CLT 2015).
During the Forum, the GSMA presented the current and future status of mobile broadband and spectrum in Latin America through presentations by Matías Fernández Díaz, Regulatory Manager at GSMA Latin America, and Luciana Camargos, Senior Policy Manager, Government and Regulatory Affairs at GSMA.
Spectrum investments in Latin America reached USD 11,200 million between 2009 and 2015 despite it being a period of low or no annual revenue for mobile operators. “User demand requires greater investment despite the fact that earnings are lower and investments in deployment (capex) are increasing to meet the exponential growth in usage and traffic,” said Fernández Díaz.
According to GSMA Latin America´s Regulatory Manager, countries have understood that spectrum is key to the growth and a stimulus for the economy, providing employment and improving productivity. Between 2009 and 2015, over 1500MHz have been assigned only for the deployment of 4G but more is needed to meet anticipated traffic demand due to the growth of users and the increased use of smartphones. “Assigning spectrum in a harmonized manner and with a timetable which allows planning of long-term investments are key matters for the industry to be capable of withstanding the future demand of mobile communications,” said Fernández Díaz.
The event was inaugurated by Fernando Borjón, Commissioner of the Federal Telecommunications Institute (IFT) of Mexico; Clovis Baptista,Executive Secretary of the Inter-American Telecommunications Commission (CITEL) and Mario Maniewicz, Director of the Radiocommunication Bureau of the ITU. Borjón said that Mexico plans to free up the 600 MHz spectrum for telecommunications services by 2018.
“Without more spectrum there may be a huge impact on mobile services: networks may get slower, prices for consumers may rise and we may miss the socio-economic benefits that mobile technology generates”, explained Luciana Camargos, Senior Policy Manager, Government and Regulatory Affairs at GSMA. Camargos detailed four ways to support the increased use of data and the exponential growth of smartphones:
- The use of new technologies such as LTE and LTE-Advance to allow more data to come into the existing spectrum: operators are already investing heavily in this option
- The deployment of denser networks with more base stations to allow the reuse of spectrum more frequently in general, through cell division or the deployment of more macro sites or small cells. Mobile operators are already doing, even though this is an even more expensive option.
- Wi-Fi offload for data to go through WiFi networks and ease mobile networks congestion
- The license of more spectrum for wireless broadband, which is the most cost-effective option to increase network capacity
The Latin-American Telecommunications Congress 2015 will be held from 13 to 16 July in Cancún, Mexico, organised by GSMA, CAF (Latin American Development Bank), ASIET (Interamerican Association of Telecommunications) and Mexico’s Communications and Transport Secretary (SCT). This important telecommunications meeting gathers first-level authorities, executives and delegates, representing government and regulatory agencies, lawmakers, telecom operators, device and service providers, consultants and academics.