The French city of Lyon hosted last 4-8 September the 56th meeting of ECC project team 1 (ECC PT1) on International Mobile Telecommunications (IMT)1, chaired by Steve Green of the United Kingdom and attended by nearly 100 participants, including, among others, representatives from administrations, the European Communications Office (ECO), the European Commission (EC), operators and manufacturers.
The work with a view to responding to the EC mandate on 5G continued at this meeting. That mandate to CEPT notably aims to develop harmonised technical conditions for use of spectrum for 5G, particularly in the 3.4-3.8 GHz and 24.25-27.5 GHz frequency bands. It must be highlighted that a CEPT decision for the 26 GHz band is in final development phase; it identifies fundamental aspects to take into account when designating that spectrum for 5G. Note, however, that in terms of technical conditions the work is still relatively behind due to activities still under way in the standardisation bodies.
This group completed the studies on the 1427-1452 MHz and 1492-1518 MHz sub-bands, in particular by drawing up technical conditions for supplemental downlink (SDL) systems in those sub-bands. Those studies will now be published on the CEPT website.
Another highlight is that the EC adopted a CEPT mandate on eventual revision of the currently harmonised technical conditions in the 900/1800 MHz bands with a view to implementing the internet of things (IoT). Note that those studies follow the work recently conducted by ECC PT1 that culminated with the approval of ECC Report 266 on machine-to-machine (M2M), focusing on various spectrum bands (including 900/1800 MHz). The proposed CEPT report prepared by the group will be submitted to the next ECC meeting for public consultation.
Finally, also noteworthy is that preparation work for the 2019 World Radiocommunication Conference (WRC-19) continues with a view to identifying frequency bands for future IMT development. CEPT’s preliminary position remains focused on the 24.25-27.5 GHz, 31.8-33.4 GHz and 40.5-43.5 GHz bands; the 24.25-27.5 GHz band is considered to be the priority band for CEPT. The 66-71 GHz band is also being considered by CEPT for 5G.
1 ECC PT1 is responsible for all issues concerning IMT. Among other aspects, its mission is to develop harmonisation measures for bands identified for the IMT system, including respective channels and technical conditions, conduct sharing/compatibility studies and coordinate European positions within the International Telecommunication Union Radiocommunication Sector (ITU-R). Additionally, it will also lead the preparation of CEPT’s position for 2019 World Radiocommunication Conference (WRC-19) questions – item 1.13 – concerning additional spectrum for mobile/IMT systems (5G systems).
