Samsung joins the GSA executive board in pushing global spectrum harmonization
As 3GPP works to establish a 5G New Radio specification, vendors and operators around the world are, in addition to helping inform the standards process, earnestly conducting lab and field trials for 5G and attendant systems. In the U.S., T-Mobile is eyeing nationwide 5G deployed in the 600 MHz band, while many other global trials have focused on high-band millimeter wave spectrum.
The wide range of frequencies in play creates a lot of opportunities for the next generation of mobile networks, but could also serve to fragment the global market creating problems around interoperability and seamless service delivery. To get ahead of this problem, the GSA (Global mobile Suppliers Association), a nonprofit trade group, is working to build global consensus around 5G spectrum harmonization.
This week GSA announced that South Korean electronics powerhouse Samsung has joined Huawei, Ericsson, Nokia, Intel and Qualcomm as a member of GSA’s executive board. In its announcement, GSA said the entrance of Samsung comes at a pivotal moment as the industry evolves from LTE.
Samsung VP and Head of Standards and Technology Sungho Choi said the company will actively work in GSA’s Spectrum Group, which he described as “excellent,” and “delivering a strong view of harmonized spectrum needs on both a global and regional level.”
GSA President and executive board member Joe Barrett addressed the need for a global approach to 5G spectrum policies in a recent blog post that provided comparative analysis of spectral regulatory policy in a number of key 5G markets.
Based on the explosive growth in the volume and type of mobile data traffic, as well as the ongoing number of connections coming from the internet of things, Barrett said the need for more, and higher frequency spectrum, is an fundamental to 5G.
“GSA member companies are investing heavily in research and developments in relation to 5G technologies and networks. Results of these efforts are underway on a global basis in response to national and regional strategic initiatives. Therefore, it is regarded as essential for policy makers to lay down rules while supporting early access to radio frequency spectrum resources with the aim of providing necessary clarity for deployments of terrestrial 5G systems, which are already on the way in some countries and are emerging in others.”
