MIIT releases 5G spectrum planning, China launches mid-band 5G commercialization

On November 15, the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology (MIIT) released a notice on the use of the 3300-3600MHz and 4800-5000MHz frequency bands by the fifth-generation mobile communication system. The MIIT’s official WeChat account said that the frequency use plan for the mid-band 5G system released this time can take into account the basic needs of system coverage and large capacity, and is the main frequency band for the early deployment of my country’s 5G system.

Spectrum is the most important scarce resource in the entire wireless communication industry. Compared with 2G, 3G, and 4G, 5G has a much wider bandwidth and higher speed than before, and supports the connection of hundreds of billions of IoT devices at the same time. The amount of spectrum required for 5G also far exceeds the sum of the previous generations of mobile communications. At the same time, in order to meet the three major application scenarios of mobile broadband, low latency, and ultra-large-scale networking, the 5G system has determined the "full frequency band" at the beginning of planning, which requires overall planning from high frequency, medium frequency, and low frequency.

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Mid-band industry is more mature

At present, the low-frequency resources in China have been allocated, and the low-frequency resources in the hands of operators are still used in 2G and 4G networks. The 700MHz spectrum, known as the digital dividend, has been controlled by radio and television companies in various provinces across the country. Although most of them are restricted, they have never been reallocated to mobile networks. There are currently no low-frequency resources allocated to 5G in China.

In the mid-frequency band, 3.5GHz is considered as the pioneer frequency band of 5G network by many countries in the world because it is conducive to signal coverage. In June 2017, the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology drafted the "Notice on the Use of 3300-3600MHz and 4800-5000MHz Frequency Bands by the Fifth Generation International Mobile Telecommunications System (IMT-2020) (Draft for Comments)" and solicited opinions from the industry. The formal determination of the 5G spectrum this time also makes my country the first country in the world to release the use plan of 5G system in the mid-frequency band.

An industry insider told reporters, "Many countries and companies are waiting for China's plan for the mid-frequency band. The Chinese market is huge, and the impact on the industrial chain is also huge. Once China is determined, it can also accelerate the maturity of the industrial chain."

However, the high frequency band is currently controversial in the industry. The industry calls the high frequency band millimeter wave. As early as July 2016, the US FCC officially announced the millimeter wave frequency band allocation plan, and then allocated more millimeter wave spectrum for 5G in September 2017, forming a millimeter wave allocation plan based on 28GHz. Currently, the United States, Canada, Japan, and South Korea mainly support this plan.

China and the EU mainly support the 24GHz solution in millimeter wave. In June 2017, the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology issued the "Public Solicitation of Opinions on Planning the Frequency Use of the Fifth Generation International Mobile Communication System (5G) in the Millimeter Wave Band", but millimeter wave was not included in the 5G spectrum allocation this time.

According to the above industry insiders, the main promoter of millimeter wave in the United States is operator Verizon, and the application scenario is mainly indoor hotspot coverage. The current network construction idea in China is continuous coverage of 5G network. According to previous statistics from UBS Consulting, if millimeter wave is used for continuous coverage, the number of base stations required is 600 times that of 4G base stations, which is unaffordable for any operator. "Millimeter wave cannot provide continuous coverage, and my country's millimeter wave industry is not mature enough. Millimeter wave planning can be considered later."