Industry bodies to collaborate on superfast 5G mobile

Superfast 5G mobile services, with speeds rivalling those of fully-fledged fibre optic connections, were one step closer on Thursday, with a landmark agreement announced between two of the world’s leading mobile industry bodies.

The Global Mobile Suppliers Association (GSA), which represents infrastructure and technology providers, and the GSM Association (GSMA), which represents network operators, announced an agreement to share and collaborate on spectrum management issues with particular reference to the allocation, harmonisation and market availability of new bands.

In a joint statement, the pair said that in run up to the ITU World Radiocommunication Conference in 2019 (WRC-19), the partnership would be key, as it would help ensure a “coherent and consistent approach” in support of new spectrum allocations for mobile broadband networks based on IMT technology.

The cooperation would also include addressing already-identified spectrum, which must be assigned to meet current and future demand for mobile broadband services.

Following a successful joint 5G workshop at ITU Telecom World 2016 in Thailand, a memorandum of understanding (MoU), solidifying the agreement, was signed at a meeting between the GSA and the GSMA in London.

“Both GSA and the GSMA share a common interest in promoting advanced mobile services,” said GSA president Joe Barrett.

“Our collaboration and combined messaging on spectrum allocation will support the global deployment of 5G to meet industry expectations of extended coverage and gigabit data rates.”

GSMA chief regulatory officer John Giusti said his organisation was very pleased to be working with the GSA to champion access to high-speed, high-quality 5G mobile services through the allocation of future spectrum.

“It is through close collaboration that we can raise awareness of the need to connect more and more consumers and businesses.”

The MoU would reportedly employ a “multi-faceted” approach to prioritise sharing studies in support of frequency bands for future 5G deployments.

In addition, the two organisations would jointly identify and support key countries to facilitate the timely availability of already-allocated spectrum, carrying out in-country studies and technical analysis as required.