“China will need some 1800MHz of spectrum by 2020 for IMT services.”

This was a powerful statement made during a recent workshop held jointly by the Chinese Academy of Telecommunications Research (CATR) and the GSMA, focusing on the spectrum requirements for IMT/mobile broadband in China by 2020 and the economic impact of awarding more spectrum. In conjunction with the workshop, the GSMA issued two reports commissioned by CATR that explore these issues.

The workshop was attended by senior officials from CATR, MIIT, ITU, GSMA, Chinese operators and international players. In her opening address, Anne Bouverot, Director General, GSMA, highlighted the tremendous growth of mobile broadband in China. There were just over 200 million mobile broadband connections at the end of 2012 and China is forecast to add over half a billion mobile broadband connections over the next five years as demand for mobile Internet services intensifies.

To sustain this momentum, more spectrum will be needed, and with current forecasts detailing that by 2016 there will be a spectrum shortage in China, the need to identify new spectrum bands is considered critical. In identifying spectrum suitable for IMT services, China can play an important role within the WRC process to ensure that the bands agreed upon internationally are well-suited for IMT in terms of technical characteristics – that they are not too fragmented or too high in frequency range – and that they represent the best allocation of scarce spectrum resources.

For the executive summary and full reports http://mwl.me/UXgzef