{"id":12323,"date":"2024-10-10T11:03:41","date_gmt":"2024-10-10T10:03:41","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.gsma.com\/connectivity-for-good\/spectrum\/?p=12323"},"modified":"2025-03-25T16:00:20","modified_gmt":"2025-03-25T16:00:20","slug":"spectrum-vision-for-apac-capacity-affordability-and-network-rationalisation","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.gsma.com\/connectivity-for-good\/spectrum\/spectrum-vision-for-apac-capacity-affordability-and-network-rationalisation\/","title":{"rendered":"Spectrum vision for APAC: capacity, affordability and network rationalisation"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

While GSMA’s M360 APAC 2024 covered a wide array of transformative trends, such as next-generation networks and AI, the closing session brought a crucial reminder: none of this innovation is possible without sound spectrum policy. As data demand surges and 5G continues to roll out across the Asia Pacific region, the discussion highlighted spectrum policy’s critical role in ensuring economic sustainability, digital transformation, and even environmental responsibility.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Spectrum needs by 2030<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

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The demand for mobile data is growing at an unprecedented rate. In 2023, global mobile data traffic exceeded the total traffic in 2018. Mark Giles, Lead Industry Analyst at Ookla, explained that the younger \u201cvideo streaming and sharing\u201d demographic is driving this increase, coupled with enterprises’ demand for “always-on” connectivity.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Luciana Camargos, GSMA\u2019s Head of Spectrum, noted that too meet this demand, 2 GHz of mid-band spectrum per market by 2030 was identified as a key target, focusing on bands like 1.5 GHz, 3.8-4.2 GHz, and 6 GHz. The 3.5 GHz band already carries much weight for 5G performance, but expanding capacity will be essential to meet future demand. With 71% of mobile data used indoors and 85% of indoor connectivity relying on mid-bands, the 6 GHz band is set to become a critical resource for future growth. These bands will play a central role in future planning, with WRC-27 exploring new bands to evolve 5G and 6G.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

5G adoption varies across APAC<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

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The session also highlighted the varying pace of 5G adoption across APAC. In markets like Hong Kong and Korea, where 5G penetration is high, regulators have proactively assigned spectrum at the earliest opportunity, resulting in widespread access and competitive service prices. However, in other markets such as Indonesia and Thailand, spectrum availability remains a significant challenge, with 3.5 GHz band clearance still a long road ahead.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Robert Wyrzykowski, Principal Data Analyst at Opensignal, identified three groups of markets in APAC:<\/p>\n\n\n\n