19.07.2018

ANCOM has debated and adopted, in a Consultative Council session together with the industry, the national action plan and schedule for the allotment of the 470-790 MHz frequency band as well as the associated regulatory options, in the form of a National Roadmap for the Allotment and Future Use of the 470-790 MHz band. "In the consultation on the 700 MHz band, we actually agreed on the schedule for making available the radio spectrum needed to implement 5G technology in Romania. We will complete the whole documentation of this auction, including reserve prices, by July 2019 and we will finalise the spectrum auction no later than December 2019," said Sorin Grindeanu, president of ANCOM.

Schedule of actions on the allotment and future use of the 470-790 MHz band

An essential first step is the timely release of appropriate radio spectrum for the future development of mobile broadband systems. In order for the 700 MHz band to be available, ANCOM will propose amendments to the NTFA (National Table of Radio Frequency Allocations) and the allocation of the 790 MHz band to the land mobile service, as the band is allocated to digital terrestrial television services at the moment.

By the end of this year, ANCOM will develop and adopt a national position on the allotment and future use of radio frequencies available in the 700 MHz, 800 MHz, 1500 MHz, 2600 MHz, 3400-3600 MHz and 26 GHz frequency bands for broadband wireless electronic communications systems.

Another action with impact on the implementation of 5G technologies is the conclusion of bilateral co-ordination agreements with the neighbouring countries, by 30 June 2019. Moreover, ANCOM will carry out a radio spectrum monitoring campaign in the frequency bands to be auctioned out and will make available to the bidders a report on the status of the radio signals identified on the territory of Romania in these bands, coming from the territory of other states.

By 31 July 2019, ANCOM will adopt the decision on the organization of the licensing procedure, namely the establishment of the conditions for awarding the frequency use rights and other necessary normative acts.

According to the Authority's proposal and following debates with industry representatives, the auction for awarding frequency use rights in the 700 MHz band and in the other frequency bands envisaged for the provision of fixed and mobile communications within the scope of 5G technology will be finalised by 15 December 2019.

The National Roadmap for the Allotment and Future Use of the 470-790 MHz Frequency Band is available here.

Background info

The following bands have been identified at European level as priority bands for the early introduction of 5G mobile communications systems in the Union: the 700 MHz (694-790 MHz) band, the 3400-3800 MHz band and the 26 GHz (24.25-27.5 GHz).  

The 700 MHz (694-790 MHz) band is very important for providing extended coverage, especially in economically challenging areas, such as rural, mountainous or other remote areas. The band is adequate for ensuring efficient coverage over wide areas and improved indoor coverage, being suited both for enhancing and improving the quality of mobile communications services offered by 4G technologies, and for the deployment of next-generation mobile communications technologies known as 5G or IMT-2020. The frequencies in the 700 MHz band will expand the spectrum resources below 1 GHz already used for the provision of broadband mobile communications services through LTE technology and will facilitate the deployment of 5G networks, and the widespread introduction of innovative digital services.

The 3400-3800 MHz band is deemed an appropriate primary band for the introduction of 5G services before 2020, as it offers large radio channel bandwidths and a good coverage/capacity balance, ensuring significant capacity growth and supporting enhanced broadband communications, as well as applications requiring low latency and high reliability, such as mission critical applications (industrial automation and robotics).

The 26 GHz band is considered to be a “pioneer” band for early 5G harmonization in the EU by 2020, as it offers more than 3 GHz of contiguous spectrum and enables the provision of ultra-high-density and very high-capacity networks over short distances, as well as revolutionary 5G applications and services, which involve very high data transfer rates, increased capacity and very low latency.