The second meeting of BEREC’s expert working group on Wireless Network Evolution (WNE EWG) was held last 24 April.
WNE EWG is responsible for the following projects under the BEREC working programme for 2019:
- In strategic priority 3 on “Enabling 5G and promoting innovation in network technologies”, BEREC defined the projects for “The impact of 5G on regulation”, “Peer review process” and “Carry-over work on the common position on infrastructure sharing”;
- In strategic priority 5 on “Exploring new ways to boost consumer empowerment”, BEREC defined the project for “Guidelines on how to assess the effectiveness of public warning systems transmitted by alternative means to mobile NB-ICS”.
However, some determined tasks in the scope of the project concerning 5G’s impact on regulation are being carried out with another BEREC group, the expert working group on Planning and Future Trends (PFT EWG), with WNE EWG producing the feasibility report on coverage aspects and service quality of 5G networks, with a special focus on solutions for the so-called ‘verticals’.
The meeting served to continue discussing the feasibility study in the context of mobile coverage and quality of service (QoS) aspects in the 5G scope, and also the peer review, specifically how it should link with the Radio Spectrum Policy Group (RSPG).
Article 110 of the European Electronic Communications Code (EECC) assigns to BEREC the task of preparing by 21 June 2020 guidelines enabling member-states to assess whether the effectiveness of systems to transmit warnings to the population via a mobile application that depends on an internet access service is equivalent to that of population warning systems that use providers of “mobile number-based interpersonal communication services” (e.g. SMS and cell broadcast). At this meeting, the guidelines were discussed, based on the work done beforehand.
Following the comments received in the public consultation which ran from 12 December 2018 to 18 January 2019 and some additional proposals/comments, the BEREC common position on Mobile Infrastructure Sharing is almost finished. The aim is to approve and publish the common position in plenary session 2, whereby the necessary adjustments to make will be discussed after that meeting.
