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Dynamic Spectrum Access (DSA) and TV White Spaces
Pre-GSR14 event: ITU workshop brings together regulators and
industry
Geneva, 4 June 2014 – An ITU
Workshop on White Spaces and Dynamic Spectrum Access (DSA)
gathered key industry players, regulators, operators, manufacturers and research
institutions in Manama, Bahrain on 2 June to discuss and debate opportunities
and challenges linked to new approaches to spectrum management.
Organized as a side event of the 2014
Global Symposium for Regulators, discussions centred on the
best practices for national and international regulations in relation to dynamic
spectrum access. The event, which attracted over 100 expert participants from
around the world, featured perspectives from the regulatory and technical
communities (IEEE, Ofcom UK, UCC Uganda) as well as leading ICT industry players
(Cisco, Ericsson, Intel, Microsoft and Texas Instruments).
“The issue of White Spaces has been generating a great deal of discussion
worldwide, and I am delighted that ITU is once again at the forefront of
emerging industry trends, bringing together public and private stakeholders for
fruitful debate and information sharing,” said ITU Secretary-General Dr Hamadoun
I. Touré.
Addressing a packed room, Brahima Sanou, Director of ITU’s Telecommunication
Development Bureau, stressed the importance of spectrum management in promoting
global growth of wireless services and the role of ITU in ensuring that
developing countries have access to the most advanced, affordable wireless
broadband systems as a key enabler for social and economic development
worldwide.
In his opening speech, François Rancy, Director of ITU’s
Radiocommunication Bureau, emphasized the need for carefully
coordinated spectrum management at the national, regional and worldwide levels,
to ensure that all radiocommunication services coexist without harmful
interference and create the stable environment needed for ongoing investment in
networks, devices and services. “In today’s fast-changing digital world every
country’s spectrum management process needs to take into account the present and
future requirements of all users, as well as the evolution of technology,” he
said.
Lively discussions during the event emphasized the need to ensure that
spectrum management approaches are harmonized, given the plethora of
communication services currently needing access to radiofrequency spectrum, in
an environment where growth of wireless services is forecast to increase
exponentially in the next 10 years.
ITU’s Radiocommunication Sector plays a vital role in creating the investor
confidence that is essential to ongoing development of wireless systems and
services through a stable and predictable environment, to the benefit of network
operators, equipment manufacturers and users.
Peter Pitsch, Director, Communications Policy, Intel Corporation, stressed
the importance of the frequency bands below 1 GHz in providing broadband mobile
coverage worldwide and argued that they presumptively should be allocated for
licensed use.
Jim Beveridge, Senior Director, International technology Policy, Microsoft
and Peter Flynn, Business Development Manager, Texas Instruments, speaking
respectively on behalf of the Dynamic Spectrum Alliance and the White Space
Alliance, stressed the need for near term policy decisions to
enable rapid deployment of shared spectrum solutions to meet the immediate
demands in the market place, noting that several relevant standards have been or
are being developed by IEEE and second generation White Space equipment is now
becoming available. Once international harmonization on dynamic spectrum occurs,
these cognitive radio devices will be able to quickly adapt to the emerging
shared spectrum model.
Robert Pepper, Vice President, Global Technology Policy, Cisco and Shiv K.
Bakhshi, Vice President, Industry Relations, Ericsson, highlighted that TV White
Space systems are intended to use allocated but unassigned spectrum
opportunistically, without the need for re-allocation of already licensed bands,
and should not lead to a ‘stealth reallocation’ of licensed bands – an issue on
which regulators should exercise caution.
Noting that a licensed spectrum regime allows the opportunity for
policymakers to impose socially desirable conditions on the use of spectrum –
for instance, population and geographical coverage – Bakhshi also raised the
question of whether it would be judicious to subject prime spectrum in the 470
MHz-694 MHz band, which could serve critical policy goals of inclusion and
inclusive social growth, to the whims and vagaries of the market place.
While some were enthusiastic about the exciting market opportunities
associated with DSA and White Spaces, others stressed the need for a globally
coordinated approach that protects existing investments and users, and ensures a
level playing field for all.
On the regulators side, both panellists (Ofcom UK and UCC Uganda) and
delegates in the audience emphasized the need for trials, not least to get the
interference environment right, before taking any decision on new approaches
such as unlicensed use of TV White Spaces.
In summarizing the discussions, BR’s Francois Rancy outlined the four
possible approaches to current and future spectrum management challenges:
Licensed Exclusive (e.g. mobile cellular networks), Licensed Shared Access (e.g.
as proposed for 2.3 GHz), Unlicensed Exclusive (e.g. current WiFi systems at 2.4
GHz) and Unlicensed Shared Access (as proposed for TV White Space systems).
These four approaches need to be carefully studied and addressed to ensure that
all social needs in relation to spectrum access are taken into account.
This workshop and future discussions in ITU will contribute to a better
understanding of the challenges and opportunities related to DSA and White
Spaces systems. They will also assist in studying and promoting best practices,
so that new systems can develop in a sustainable and harmonious manner with
existing systems using the same spectrum.
As the UN specialized agency for ICTs, ITU provides a unique global forum for
collaborative discussions on the technical, operational, economical and
regulatory aspects of spectrum management between all stakeholders.
Presentations made at the event can be found from Monday 9 June on the
event website.
For more information, please
contact:
Sarah Parkes
Chief, Media Relations and Public Information, ITU
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Grace Petrin
Communication Officer,
ITU Radiocommunication Bureau
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