July 2004

3G Americas, a wireless trade organization representing the GSM family of technologies, has published a technical analysis of the issues surrounding spectrum allocations for licensed mobile technologies and unlicensed technologies.  The public document, 3G Americas Technical Analysis and Position Paper on the Regulatory Issues Between Licensed and Unlicensed Spectrum, defines an industry position on important recommendations for the continued growth and delivery of wireless services to customers throughout the Americas citing that the use of licensed spectrum by unlicensed devices should be prohibited.  The educational document identifies 3G Americas� recommendations, some of which include:

1.  The rights and responsibilities of licensees should be clearly defined as spectrum is allocated.

• Allocations should be harmonized with international allocations when possible.
• Secondary markets and spectrum leasing may offer workable solutions and avoid causing additional interference to licensees.
• Spectrum sharing between licensed and unlicensed devices should be discouraged.  If allowed, the regulations should retain a control mechanism for the primary licensee.

2.  Underlays that permit operation of unlicensed devices in spectrum bands allocated to licensed Cellular Mobile Radio Services (CMRS) should not be permitted.

3.  Any new spectrum that is allocated for the primary purpose of unlicensed operation should be above 5 GHz and, in general, any bands under consideration should also be above any ITU allocations for licensed mobile services. 

• Any spectrum below 5 GHz that is opened for commercial uses should be allocated for licensed use.

Chris Pearson, President of 3G Americas characterized the technical analysis and recommendations in the paper as "important issues and considerations for regulatory agencies to study as they make decisions that will affect the cost, quality, and efficiency of wireless service for customers throughout the Americas.  Over the past 30 years, billions of dollars have been expended by the cellular wireless industry to deliver the most spectrally efficient voice and data communications to the masses throughout the Americas.  We not only created an industry from scratch, employing hundreds of thousands of workers, but we changed the way people lived.�

Pearson added, �The issue of licensed versus unlicensed spectrum is a concern for everyone and encompasses the use of not only mobile devices, but unlicensed spectrum wireless devices as well, which can cause interference and reduce the quality of service for mobile customers and operators.�

Operators and vendors from 3G Americas' Board of Governors member companies jointly composed the document to provide guidance to governments, regulators, key industry organizations and stakeholders in the Americas by offering recommendations that will ensure the continued development of the wireless industry.  The report asserts that the mobile industry prospers by providing customers an excellent level of service, of which inappropriate spectrum allocations for unlicensed services can create serious interference and damage.  Analysis referenced in the paper shows that even minor increases in operating interference levels (noise rise) can have noticeable effects on licensed wireless systems.  To overcome the impact of this higher interference level, operators would have to build more cell sites, thus incurring additional costs and requiring higher costs for delivering service to customers.

To review the full list of recommendations, the 3G Americas Technical Analysis and Position Paper on the Regulatory Issues Between Licensed and Unlicensed Spectrum is available for free download at www.3gamericas.org.

About 3G Americas: Unifying the Americas through Wireless Technology
The mission of 3G Americas is to promote and facilitate the seamless deployment of GSM, GPRS, EDGE, and UMTS throughout the Americas for the benefit of consumers.  The organization fully supports the Third Generation (3G) technology migration strategy GSM/GPRS/EDGE and UMTS adopted by many operators in the Americas that is expected to account for up to 85% of next-generation customers worldwide.  3G Americas is headquartered in Bellevue, WA with an office for Latin America and the Caribbean in Dallas, TX.  For more information, visit our website at www.3gamericas.org.

3G Americas� Board of Governor members include AT&T Wireless (USA), Cable & Wireless (West Indies), Cingular Wireless (USA), Ericsson, Gemplus, HP, Lucent Technologies, Motorola, Nokia, Nortel Networks, Openwave Systems, Research In Motion, Rogers Wireless (Canada), Siemens, T-Mobile USA, Telcel (Mexico), and Texas Instruments.