The GSMA responded to the Radio Spectrum Policy Group’s two recent public consultations: the consultation on the Draft Opinion on the Spectrum Aspects of the Internet of Things (IoT) including M2M and the consultation on the Draft RSPG Opinion on Spectrum Aspects of Intelligent Transport Systems.
The connectivity revolution, enabled by M2M and the emerging Internet of Things (IoT), is one of the most important trends in modern technology and is set to transform the economy. With the advent of 5G and the growth potential of the IoT, including intelligent transport systems (ITS), it is vital that Europe has a clear roadmap for spectrum access for these two new sectors.
In particular, the industry is keen to ensure that spectrum licensing doesn’t give undue favour to one technology over another: the market should ultimately decide which technologies will best meet the current and future IoT customer requirements. In addition, the GSMA emphasised the need for further harmonisation and availability of UHF spectrum for IoT networks. It also stressed that the deployment of SRD and DECT applications in the 1.9GHz band should follow only after the compatibility studies have been completed.
For ITS, it is important to be aware of the 3GPP standards covering cellular telecommunications network technologies, including radio access, the core transport network, and service capabilities and thus provides complete system specifications. Indeed, mobile networks will play an important role for ITS: operators and car manufacturers are already trialling LTE V2X (vehicle-to-everything) services in a number of European countries. It is vital that regulatory policy, with respect to the 5.9GHz band, is technologically-neutral, allowing mobile operators to respond to market demand for ITS applications using Cellular-V2X.
The GSMA response on the consultation on the Draft RSPG Opinion on Spectrum Aspects of Intelligent Transport Systems can be accessed here, while the response on the consultation on the Draft Opinion on the Spectrum Aspects of the Internet-of-things (IoT) including M2M can be read here.