Extending UMTS Mobile Coverage in Developing Countries

In developing countries, there is a lack of telecommunication infrastructures in low density population areas. Since mobile networks are characterized by lower roll-out costs and a higher speed of deployment than fixed networks, the extension of mobile coverage seems the most efficient solution for providing these regions with the infrastructures required for their opening up and economic development. The UMTS Forum project will aim at: 1) Providing a cost-effective extension of mobile coverage in sparsely populated areas. To that purpose, WRC-07 would need to identify a harmonised frequency, allowing an extended coverage compared to the use in the 2GHz band; 2) Supporting the deployment of mobile systems based on global open standards as opposed to proprietary standards adopted by one or few actors only, in order to benefit from economies of scale and competition between manufacturers; 3) Ensuring a fair regulatory treatment of mobile operators in the field of access to and usage of the radio spectrum, and in particular when it comes to frequency fees; 4) Implementing spectrum allocation methods based on qualitative requirements and economical criteria; and 5) Encouraging implementation of mobile networks in frequency bands which are harmonised worldwide. UMTS Forum holds workshops in developing countries to examine issues related to frequency band harmonisation, mobile system development, global roaming and equipment-cost reduction through economies of scale. Expected outcome : Mobile communication could contribute to the telecoms infrastructure development in lower density population areas provided that they benefit from an enabling regulatory environment and frequency band harmonization. In fact, UMTS/IMT-2000 operators would need to deploy some five/six times less base station sites using frequencies around 500 MHz compared to the 2 GHz band.

International implementation

Ongoing from 2007 to 2012

* Information and communication infrastructure
* Enabling environment

• Goal 8: Develop a global partnership for development

• Project