Summary

The demand for fast, low-latency and reliable data delivery is expected to skyrocket in the upcoming decade, and the available bandwidth is limited by the availability of spectrum and the laws of physics. The telecommunications industry basically has two main tools to keep up with the increasing demand: start to use new frequencies, such as millimetre waves, or increase efficiency in the frequency already used. 5G will become the “network of networks” and connect literally billions of new objects with different connectivity needs and data usage patterns. This report helps understand the driving forces behind the changes in one of the most critical resources of the telecommunication industry: spectrum. The report presents relating uses cases, early adopter countries, key characteristics of all the three layers of 5G (Sub 1 GHz, 1-6G Hz and millimeter waves over 24.25 GHz). Spectrum sharing is also emphasized topics in the report as ABI Research expects that mobile service providers simply won’t be the only ones with control over this newly commoditized resource.  On one hand, regulators are expected to help vertical industries to access spectrum with respect to the mobile service providers and their investments. On the other hand, dynamic spectrum sharing, and trading platforms will gain significant importance in the longer term.  The also report presents the current status and the expected path of the upcoming global and European spectrum harmonization processes

The report also includes the 5G spectrum tracker. This 412-row dataset includes the 5G spectrum activity in 30 countries, covering 5G spectrum allocations. This user-friendly, comprehensive database helps monitor, compare and understand the recent spectrum auctions on a mobile service provider level in the following countries. Australia, Austria, Belgium, Brazil, Canada, China, Finland, France, Germany, India, Indonesia, Ireland, Italy, Israel, Japan, Mexico, Netherlands, Norway, Poland, Russia, Saudi Arabia, South Korea, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, Taiwan, Turkey, United Arab Emirates, United Kingdom United States. 

 

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