Page 118 - SAMENA Trends - June-July 2020

REGULATORY & POLICY UPDATES SAMENA TRENDS

3GPP 5G Formally Endorsed as ITU IMT-2020 5G Standard

The International Telecommunication and research institutions from all over the as the technology meets the technological
Union Radiocommunication Sector (ITU-R) world. This great milestone was realized standards of IMT-2020 for supporting
formally approved the 3rd Generation after the ITU affirmed through much diverse 5G applications in terms of service
Partnership Project (3GPP) 5G technology scrutiny that 3GPP 5G fulfills the entire support, spectrum, and performance
(with the Narrowband Internet of Things set of the technological requirements of indicators. The technology boasts a peak
(NB-IoT) included) as International IMT-2020 5G standard. Through close rate of over 20 Gbps, a latency of less
Mobile Telecommunications-2020 (IMT- collaboration of industrial partners from than 1 ms, and enablement of one million
2020) 5G standard at the ITU-R Working all the relevant countries, ITU has reached connections per square kilometer. The host
Party 5D (WP5D) #35 meeting, which the IMT-2020 5G milestone on schedule, of the meeting, ITU-R WP 5D, is a working
was convened online on July 9th due to leading the entire globe closer to a fully group under the ITU that is responsible for
concerns of the ongoing global pandemic. connected, intelligent world. The standard, the terrestrial radio access of International
A game-changer to the development IMT-2020 5G, is an umbrella developed by Mobile Telecommunications (IMT)
of the mobile telecom industry, this the ITU towards 5G, or the fifth generation systems. Over the past 20 years, the ITU-R
announcement was collectively witnessed technology standard for mobile networks WP 5D standardized 3G (known as IMT-
by more than 200 representatives and 2020 and beyond. To ensure technological 2000), 4G (known as IMT-Advanced), as
experts from regulatory agencies, telecom leadership and superiority over previous well as the current 5G standard (or termed
manufacturing and operating businesses, cellular technologies, the ITU has posed as IMT 2020 and beyond). 3G and 4G have
challenging requirements and developed enabled the mobile telecom industry to
stringent assessment standards. Since achieve significant accomplishments
2016, the ITU has been undergoing a worldwide. Led by the ITU-R WP 5D,
profound and thorough assessment of countries and regional organizations
all received candidate proposals based around the world will continue to work
on 5G's three major use cases: enhanced together on mobile communications.
Mobile Broadband (eMBB), ultra-reliable Huawei will also continue to make
low-latency communication (URLLC), and contributions to advance the development
Massive Machine-Type Communications of global mobile communications
(mMTC). Finally, 3GPP 5G was approved technologies.

FCC Adopts RDOF Auction Rules

Satellite broadband providers using low- funding going to the entity that commits of a public notice adopted at today’s
earth orbit (LEO) satellites may not be to deploying service for the lowest level monthly commission meeting. Officials at
shut out of bidding to provide low-latency of support. A weighting system will favor today’s meeting outlined key points:
service in the RDOF auction after all. The bids to provide higher speed or lower • Bids will be by census block group
FCC today adopted rules for the RDOF, or latency service. The commission had been and will include census blocks with no
Rural Digital Opportunity Fund, auction, expected to prevent all satellite broadband availability of 25/3 Mbps service.
and those rules would not categorically providers from bidding to provide low- • The public notice details procedures for
prevent LEOs from bidding to provide low- latency service, but apparently had a last- collecting key information prior to the
latency service. The commission didn’t minute change of heart with regard to the auction via a short-form application
provide details, but the plan likely would LEO operators. A second-phase auction designed to determine potential
be to evaluate LEO bids on a case-by-case will follow the Phase 1 auction and will bidders’ legal, technical and financial
basis. As FCC Chairman Ajit Pai put it, “We award $4.4 billion for census blocks that qualifications.
didn’t entirely closely the door on LEOs are partially served, based on data to be • The auction will end when the support
[bidding] in the low-latency tier.” Phase 1 of collected through a new process that is amount of all bids is equal to or less
the RDOF auction, to be known as Auction expected to be more accurate. According than the budget and competition within
904 and scheduled to begin October 29, to FCC Commissioner Michael O’Rielly, census block groups has been resolved.
will award up to $16 billion in funding the commission will reconsider which • Winning bidders will be required to
over 10 years to cover some of the costs technologies are categorically prohibited submit a more detailed long-form
of bringing broadband to areas where it from bidding in the second-phase auction. application after the auction.
is not already available. Funding will be RDOF Auction Rules
awarded through a reverse auction, with The RDOF auction rules came in the form

118 JUNE-JULY 2020