Report on the Seminar on terrestrial spectrum for IMT (WRC-07 agenda item 1.4)

A seminar on terrestrial spectrum for IMT was held on 16 April 2006, in San Salvador, El Salvador, in line with Resolution PCC.II/RES. 38 (VIII-06) . The seminar was sponsored by an industry group and with the support of SIGET.

Mr. João Albernaz, ViceChair of the Working Group for the Preparation of CITEL for Regional and World Radiocommunication Conferences, provided an introduction about the importance of the topics to be discussed at the seminar with respect to the preparations for the WRC-07. The seminar was opened by Lic. Fernando Argüello, Superintendente General de Electricidad y Telecomunicaciones (SIGET)

The members of the industry group presented an overview of the work in ITU-R that has resulted in several ITU-R Reports and the CPM Report in support of Agenda Item 1.4. These include market studies, estimated spectrum requirements, candidate bands, and the identified methods to satisfy Agenda Item 1.4 at WRC-07. An overview of the sharing studies ongoing in ITU-R Working Party 8F was also presented.

A highlight at the seminar was a session with presentations by representatives from forums, associations, and operators in the Americas region. These included 3G Americas, CDG, IA450, Telefónica-Argentina and Orange. In agreement with the ITU-R studies carried out in WP 8F, all these speakers supported the necessity of more spectrum to fulfill needs in the future. Another agreement was the need to harmonize the frequency bands in order to develop a global system with roaming which was the first goal foreseen by ITU at the very beginning.

The necessity of lower and higher bands was highlighted by several speakers because of radio coverage, applicable in both distance (rural) and capacity of traffic (high density).

Speakers at the seminar were also unanimous in that new spectrum is needed and they support the allocation to mobile and identification to IMT at WRC-07.

It was also noted that some changes in regulations are desirable also as complementary actions for an efficient use of the spectrum. Market and technology evolution put the industry in a new dynamism.

One of the presentations provided a perspective on the mobile technology for the next decade for IMT-Advanced, with a dynamic illustration of the capabilities of the various generations of mobile technologies.

The final presentation summarized that the growth in demand for telecommunications services requires more mobile spectrum, that higher bit-rates are needed to provide a better mobile experience, and that WRC-07 is the right time to identify new mobile bands.

The seminar concluded with a lively panel session in which several aspects of services and applications were discussed, including the development of telecommunication facilities in under-served areas, impacts on the network of the future, and the need to offer wireless services, both fixed and mobile, that are affordable to everyone. It was suggested that after the results of WRC-07 are know another seminar be held, possibly in 2008, to start considering how to make best used of the identified bands for the benefits of all people in the Americas and the world.

José Costa
Coordinator of the Seminar