A blog written by the SCF Regulatory and Policy Working Group on recent CEPT activities
SCF started attending the CEPT PT1 and WG FM meetings under its recognized observer status back in 2022. CEPT is the European Conference of Postal and Telecommunications Administrations, a regulatory body looking at commercial, operational, regulatory and technical standardization issues.
We have been particularly interested in the 3.8-4.2 GHz work on local area connectivity, an activity which has its roots in the Ofcom Shared Access Licence regulations. The shared approach envisioned in the use of 3.8-4.2 GHz band is particularly appropriate for private local area networks and small cells. These networks in most cases are based on 3GPP systems and can benefit from the scale advantages that come along with it.
The incumbent services on this band range typically are fixed links and fixed satellite service whereas adjacent bands have mobile networks (below 3.8 GHz) and radio altimeters (above 4.2 GHz).
At the latest PT1 meeting, the group addressed all the public consultation comments on draft ECC Report 358 and submitted that report to ECC for approval for publication. The report contains technical in-band and adjacent band coexistence studies which demonstrate how such local area networks can effectively operate in the 3.8-4.2 GHz band. Naturally, for practical deployments many questions remain on coordination between systems deployed in the band, eg:
- synchronization
- pdf limits
- geographical separation distance
- frequency separation requirements
SCF welcomes the news that CEPT plans to develop recommendations for national administrations to provide guidance on the approach to coexistence in the band.
The recently finished WG FM#107 endorsed a draft ECC decision on harmonized technical conditions for the shared use of the 3.8-4.2 GHz frequency band. We hope that several CEPT administrations do see the benefit of designating this frequency band for terrestrial wireless broadband systems providing local-area low/medium power network connectivity. The band is close enough to existing MNO assignments below 3.8 GHz to make the equipment ecosystem growth feasible.
Shared Access Licenses have taken off well in the UK under Ofcom regulations and we would like to see more deployments in other CEPT countries.
6425-7125 MHz sharing between WAS/RLAN and MFCN
Another topic of great interest to the small cell community is the proposed shared use of upper 6 GHz band between RLAN and IMT. This approach was initiated by Ofcom last year in the run up to the World Radio Conference 2023, where the frequency band 6 425-7 125 MHz in Region 1 was identified for IMT, with the observation that this band is also used for the implementation of wireless access systems (WAS), including radio local area networks (RLANs).
Having a look at the draft ECC report that PT1 is currently drafting one can find several sharing options being evaluated on their feasibility: indoor/outdoor split, band split, geographical separation etc. In cross-technology awareness mechanisms we can see sensing and signalling as alternatives.
Considering that the expected usage patterns for both RLAN and mobile networks at 6 GHz are similar, being concentrated where population density is high, it may be challenging to find feasible sharing approaches. SCF is interested in following how the feasibility studies evolve in PT1, towards its next meeting in September.
7125-8400 MHz spectrum
Although this band is currently not being discussed in CEPT, SCF believes this spectrum should be considered for small cell deployments, preferably in a licensed model, not only in the EU regions, but hopefully also in other regulatory regions of the world.