The GSMA has been a fierce critic of plans by some regulators to earmark spectrum for industrial services or private networks. Some markets, such as Germany, the UK and The Netherlands, aim to amplify the economic impact of 5G by ensuring key industries can deploy and optimize it in the way they require. But the GSMA argues that this could fragment the spectrum and make it less usable, and that flexible platforms and network slicing are the way for MNOs to support enterprises’ diverse needs most effectively.
In its latest paper on the subject, the operators’ trade association warned that setting aside 5G spectrum for private use would risk slowing MNO deployments, and reducing coverage and performance. Private allocations might be underused.
These effects would be “especially grave” in countries with a shortage of accessible midband spectrum, it said.
“Mobile operators already support verticals and can deliver private networks with dedicated spectrum where needed,” it argued. “Regulators can also tailor their normal award approach to meet the needs of verticals without undermining 5G more widely.”
As an example, it said the Finnish regulator had assigned the whole of the 3.5 GHz band to mobile operators, with a framework in place to facilitate effective collaboration with industries, to ensure the 5G networks met their needs. Many industries complain that MNOs will always build their networks with their traditional consumer and mobile broadband business models in mind, since these generate most of their revenues – but many industrial applications need very different types of connectivity, such as very high availability.
Other viable options include carefully planned spectrum sharing policies for private network operators, or spectrum leasing, the GSMA conceded, and it also acknowledged the importance of using unlicensed spectrum for numerous verticals.