GSMA: Spectrum shortage may lead to escalating 5G deployment costs

The GSMA called on regulators worldwide to increase the availability of mid-band spectrum, warning that not getting extra allocations to meet United Nations (UN) speed targets could cost each city billions of dollars more and incur a higher carbon footprint.

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A study commissioned by the group and conducted by consultancy Coleago estimated that in areas where there is less than 800MHz to 1000MHz of spectrum, the total cost of deploying 5G will jump by $782 million to $5.8 billion per city.

The additional costs come from the increase in the number of base stations required and the associated overhead costs. The GSMA noted that in some areas it would be impossible to meet the "full potential of 5G" without additional spectrum assets.

It warned that to meet data speed requirements set by the UN's International Telecommunication Union's 2030 deadline, the industry would need an average of 2GHz of mid-band spectrum per city.

The goal is to provide reliable end-user download speeds of 100Mb/s and upload speeds of 50Mb/s, assessed against population density metrics. However, it excludes some cities with large numbers of commuters or tourists.

The GSMA noted that in order to achieve the target, mobile operators will need to obtain spectrum in the harmonized bands of 3.5GHz, 4.8GHz and 6GHz.

The company added that using mid-band spectrum to achieve these goals would minimize the environmental impact of the latest network technology, leading to lower prices for consumers and reduced deployment costs.