Spectrum Sharing

Rachel Clark, Director of Spectrum Policy

3 February 2015

1

• Why spectrum sharing?

• Issues to be considered

• Dynamic spectrum sharing – TV White Space

• Next Steps

What do we mean by Spectrum sharing

• When we talk about spectrum sharing we simply mean spectrum that is used by more

than one access method or type of user for more than one type of use

• we have measured where there are different uses in the same band (Ofcom managed,

licence exempt, block assigned, Space Science, Public Sector, or two or more Ofcom

Managed licence classes (e.g. Fixed links and satellite)

• This analysis shows sharing occurs in 58% of the spectrum bands.

• This is likely to be an underestimate of sharing as it does not include sharing between

users and uses within spectrum that is exclusively used by the public sector or space

science.

• And where spectrum is shared it is normally extensively shared, by more than two uses

with as many as 4 sharing the same spectrum

2

Market access: 75% Public sector access: 52%

Market &

Public sector:

20.4%

Space Science access:20%

Market &

Public sector &

Space science: 8.5

%

Space science

only: 2.6%

Market &

Space science

only: 5.6%

Public sector &

Space science

only:3.2%

Market only:

40.1%

Public sector only:

19.5%

Overview of spectrum* access

*weighted spectrum between 87.5MHz and 86Ghz

• Around 58% shared

• While 42% for single access/use category (approx. 20% market access / 20% public sector /

3% space science)

Space science

exclusive: 2.6%

Market

exclusive:

19.5%

Public sector

exclusive:

19.5%

Market access: 75% Public sector access: 52%

Space Science access:20%

Scarce clear spectrum and sharing already working well

4

• We have categorised the spectrum accessed for market uses:

• Ofcom standard licence products - Ofcom Managed (OM): 50%

• Licences assigned for large blocks of spectrum - Block assigned (BA):12%

• Licence exemption regulations – licence exempt (LE): 20%

• and 2% of the spectrum being currently un –assigned – all above 45GHz

• 26 % of market use spectrum shared using two or more authorisation methods representing 20% of total weighted spectrum

• Sharing between uses and authorisation methods already delivering significant benefits

Note:

1 This view considers sharing within market uses

and so does not consider the sharing of OM, LE

and BA with public sector and space science.

2 Unassigned spectrum includes bands where use

has not yet been authorised, these are: 66-71

GHz, 47.2 to 47.9GHz and 45.5 to 47GHz, which

are all extension bands for satellite use but where

there is no current actual use

75% of weighted spectrum for market access

Ofcom Managed

50%Licence exempt: 28%

Block assigned : 12%

OM minus

LE minus BA

31%

Block

Assigned

minus OM:

11%

OM and BA

only: 1%

OM and LE

only:18%LE minus OM

10.3%

Unassigned

spectrum : 2%

Current methods of authorisation

5

• Licensed access by different dimensions:

• In frequency – with individual licences each with a specific frequency range

or with concurrent access for several licensees to the same range of

frequencies

• In geography – with licences covering the whole of the UK, or specific

geographical areas, or defining the location of transmitting equipment

• In time – some licences are indefinite in duration and others have a fixed

duration

• In technical conditions – to manage risk of harmful interference between

uses and users through pre-defined limits and/or self-coordination

• Licence exemption: default position where use of the spectrum is not likely to

cause undue interference. Will need to comply with specific technical

requirements and may be constrained by any/all of the above dimensions.

6

• Why spectrum sharing?

• Issues to be considered

• Dynamic spectrum sharing – TV White Space

• Next Steps

Why worry about spectrum sharing

• Growing competing demand for spectrum from all sectors

• Becoming more and more difficult to find/create clear spectrum

• Limited opportunities to clear and release the spectrum for new uses

• So new uses might need to share

7

Issues for more sharing and new ways of sharing

8

• Options for concurrent access to spectrum for several licensees

• Eg 1781/1880 MHz “DECT guard band” spectrum with all having

same rights

• Options for licensed/authorised shared access – different users get

different rights with different priority levels

• See White Space pilot approach

• Tools for managing shared/pooled spectrum : databases, sensing, market

mechanisms etc

• Identify conditions of access that would support the successful operation

of each service

• Establish clear rules for the relative rights between existing users and new

users

• Establish rules for the relative rights amongst new users

We are keen to understand whether new technologies

and new spectrum access models might facilitate such

access.

9

Understanding business needs

• Sharing requires coexistence along a number of dimensions

– Frequency

– Location (fixed or dynamic)

– Time (both short and long term)

– Power level

• Conditions of access need to support successful planning of commercial activities over

their specific timescales

• How can we best understand/Take into account business needs of different and new

uses, e.g. 5G, but also existing uses?

10

• Why spectrum sharing?

• Issues to be considered

• Dynamic spectrum sharing – TV White Space

• Next Steps

11

Database managed dynamic spectrum access

• Consultation published last year, hoping to publish a Statement in the next few weeks

setting out our decision on how to take this forward.

• Intention is: licence exempt access for equipment that meets technical standards and

that only transmits at any given time within parameters (frequency and power) specific

to its location and technical characteristics provided by an authorised database

• Database has all the information about existing users and all the coexistence

requirements. Information can be changed realtime if required.

• Relies on knowledge of location of white space devices. The more the devices can tell

the databases about where they are and what they are the more likely they are to have

frequency options.

TV White Space project

TV White Space project – wider lessons for sharing

• First opportunity to test dynamic allocation by database – lots to learn from it

• Opportunistic access to spectrum – probably suited to limited range of uses,

opportunity for innovation

• No ability to prioritise between white space traffic – will this be an issue

• Protection only goes one way – how can users get the most out of the

available spectrum (e.g. sensing)?

12

13

• Why spectrum sharing?

• Issues to be considered

• Dynamic spectrum sharing – TV White Space

• Next Steps

14

Next steps

• We are looking at all these issues around sharing

• Interested in output from cluster 2 work – in particular, we are interested in any

information you can give us on the business needs that sharing should seek to

address

• Planning to publish a consultation later this year on potential sharing models,

and potential new spectrum sharing opportunities more generally and their

associated spectrum management implications