Britain's telecoms regulator wants to repurpose unused mobile spectrum for the upcoming Emergency Services Network (ESN) and to overhaul communications in the railway sector.
Ofcom proposes to make the 1900 MHz band (covering 1900-1920 MHz) available for the UK's rail network and the emergency services, maximizing the use of this spectrum while supporting improvements to critical national infrastructure.
In its consultation document regarding this changeover, Ofcom claims UK licenses for the 1900 MHz band were awarded for mobile services in 2000, yet they have not been used.
Rather than see it sit idle any longer, the agency says the best use of the frequencies would be for half of it (1900-1910 MHz) to be earmarked so the railways can be upgraded to 5G mobile technology, while another slice (1910-1915 MHz) is used to allow extended coverage for the ESN, currently being developed by IBM with help from Sansung, Ericsson and BT/EE.
However, this spectrum is not set to become available until April 2029, which is when the desperately late running ESN project - recently taken over by Big Blue - is scheduled to be ready to go live.
In the case of the rail industry, this spectrum band will facilitate a migration from the existing Global System for Mobile Communications-Railway (GSM-R) to its successor, the Future Railway Mobile Communications System (FRMCS). The system is used for operational communications between drivers and signalers.
According to the international union of railways, the Union Internationale des Chemins de fer (UIC), GSM-R is based on 2G technology and is fast becoming obsolete, although it is understood that support will be available until at least 2030.
The European Conference of Postal and Telecommunications Administrations (CEPT), the coordinating body for European telecommunications, has allocated 874.4-880 MHz and 919.4-925.0 MHz for this purpose – alongside 1900-1910 MHz.
Ofcom says it expects to charge £1,458,000 ($1,880,000) per year for a FRMCS license covering Great Britain, and £42,000 ($54,000) for a license covering Northern Ireland, while licenses for smaller rail networks would pay less, according to the length of the rail route.
For the ESN, that 1910-1915 MHz band will be used for repeater gateways to be installed on emergency vehicles, according to Ofcom. These are intended to make communications possible in locations it is otherwise difficult to get a connection, such as underground car parks or remote rural areas.
The agency reveals that BT/EE had originally planned to provide ESN gateways using 1899.9-1909.9 MHz spectrum. However, Ofcom decided this was not optimal because the frequencies had already been harmonized across Europe for FRMCS.
"We therefore varied the license to revoke access to this spectrum. We noted the important role ESN gateways could play in public safety and recognized that, according to our initial technical analysis, 1910-1915 MHz could be a potentially viable option for ESN gateways," it explains.
In this case, the fees will be £364,500 ($470,000) per annum for an ESN gateway license covering Great Britain.
The regulator says it is not looking to authorize any use in the remaining 1915-1920 MHz slice of that band primarily because of the power restrictions necessary to protect the band above 1920 MHz from interference.
Any responses to the consultation process are being accepted until 5pm BST on May 19. Ofcom is asking respondents to submit using a form available from its website (ODT format). ®