Background
The development of new mobile technologies alongside the cloud, big data and machine learning are transforming the connectivity requirements of private mobile networks, also referred to as ‘networks for vertical industries’. These range from creating smart utility grids and automating manufacturing to delivering goods by drones and supporting advanced public safety and transport networks. Connected enterprises need to be agile and open to the challenges and opportunities of this era of digitalisation that 5G is delivering.
Policymakers play a vital role by managing the spectrum that underpins these developments, and great care needs to be taken to ensure private mobile network requirements are fully supported without harming other wireless users. Private networks are an integral part of 5G, enabling industrial applications, logistics hubs, local campus networks and many more functions. However, private networks do not imply private spectrum. Asymmetric carve- outs are an aggressive regulatory tool that has an economic cost and, with best-practice licensing, can be avoided.
Debate
As governments turn their attention to supporting high-speed network rollouts, regulators face the daunting challenge of deciding who gets access to spectrum.
How can governments and regulators develop spectrum policies that support mobile networks for verticals without negatively affecting commercial 5G services?
Industry position
Policymakers should ensure that private mobile networks can get the connectivity they need to support their use cases without undermining other spectrum users and uphold the fair and efficient assignment of mobile bands.
Spectrum set-asides can lead to insufficient spectrum being available for mobile operators to use and meet all their 5G requirements and capabilities. Scarcity also encourages higher prices to be paid for spectrum, which is strongly linked to less network investment, slower rollouts, limited coverage and reduced data speeds. Where industries require access to specific licensed bands, they can do so via sharing and leasing agreements with mobile operators (for example).
The following considerations should inform spectrum policy decisions related to private networks:
- Commercial mobile operators support the needs of a wide variety of private mobile networks and have added capabilities with 5G.
- Spectrum leasing or, when carefully planned, other types of spectrum sharing can be viable options for supporting industry verticals that want to build private networks.
- Spectrum that is set aside exclusively for verticals in core mobile bands risks being underused and can undermine fair spectrum awards.
- Spectrum that is set aside for mobile networks for verticals in core mobile bands can also threaten the wider success of 5G, including slower rollouts, worse performance and reduced coverage.
- Policymakers should consider the coexistence challenges when different use cases need to be supported in the same mobile band.
Resources
Best Practice in Mobile Spectrum Licensing, GSMA, February 2022
Spectrum Policy Trends 2023, GSMA, February 2023