Different from the auctioning system adopted by most countries worldwide, the spectrum resources of our country have been distributed by the regulatory authorities. At present, the determined 5G spectrum in China (including the solicit opinions) mainly consisted of 3.3-3.6GHz, 4.8-5GHz; 24.75-27.5GHz, 37-42.5GHz and other frequency bands.
Though the spectrum has been defined, its partition was yet to be determined. Considering the vital significance of spectrum resources to the development and layout of 5G, determination of spectrum partition has become an urgent task of top priority.
Operators have been waiting eagerly for a determined partition of the 5G spectrum. Zhang Yunyong, Dean of the Research Institute of China Unicom denoted that, he was looking forward to the plan of 5G low-frequency allocation, thus accelerating the release of 700MHz frequency band and laying a foundation for the future research and development of operators, equipment manufacturers and application developers.
China Mobile indicated that it would launch a large-scale pre-commercial 5G test in 2019. China Telecom published the China Telecom Whitepaper of 5G Technology on the 2018 Mobile World Congress-Shanghai and announced the layout of 5G pilots in Xiong’an, Shenzhen, Shanghai, Suzhou, Chengdu and Lanzhou. And accelerated clarification of spectrum partition would undoubtedly contribute to operators’ deployment and investment plan in 5G-related fields.
Also, some relevant experts from equipment manufacturers pointed out different models developed by different manufacturers and large research and development costs due to the undetermined frequency bands. Under such circumstances, Zhu Fusheng called for our country’s determination of partitioning 5G frequency bands as soon as possible. European countries and the United States have already taken the lead; if China failed to define the bands timely, our early-mover advantages in 5G research would be burdened by the spectrum issue, which would eventually drag the whole industry backward. We wouldn’t want to come to such a regrettable situation.