The 8th Asia-Pacific Spectrum Management Conference was held in Bangkok from 26 to 27 April 2022. It was jointly hosted by Forum Global and Thailand NBTC, supported by ITU and APT. Huawei co-organised this conference as an important partner. Topics at this conference included Asia Pacific Spectrum Strategies and Development in order to promote sustainable development of the Digital Economy. Speakers included regulators from Thailand, China, Cambodia, Indonesia, Republic of Korea, Vietnam, leading operators such as China Mobile and Axiata, leading telecom vendors like Huawei, and international industrial organisations such as GSMA.
The spectrum is the fundamental resource of mobile communication industries development and the core element for 5G and 5G Advanced. A harmonised plan in terms of spectrum roadmap and standards must be well-defined.
Mr. Sanea Saiwong Principle Engineering Expert of NBTC Thailand announced 5G has been commercially rolled out on 2.6GHz/700MHz, in trial on 3.5/28GHz, and in studies on 6GHz under WRC-23. In the future, the NBTC claims that total 2051MHz bandwidth of mid- and low-band will be demanded to provide at least 100 Mbps 5G download speed, compared to current 30Mbps average in 4G. New spectrum assignment will satisfy the demand of future traffic growth but further network rollout in provincial areas is also needed for equitable access to 5G experiences.
According to NBTC’s network obligation, licensees shall expand 2600MHz networks that cover 50% of Eastern Economic Corridor (EEC) in 1 year and smart cities in 4 years shared by Ms.Theeetanun, Director of Telecommunication Business License Bureau NBTC. While AWN with 95.7% and TUC with 94.5% have completed telecom network rollout in the EEC since March 2021. National 5G population coverage achieves 77% with total 17,244 of 2600MHz base stations by April 2022.
According to GSMA, by 2025-2030, countries require 2 GHz of mid-band spectrum to meet the IMT user experience of 100 Mbit/s downlink and 50 Mbit/s uplink to reach the vision of 5G services. Therefore, 6GHz is a prime candidate. GSMA called on regulators “to consider at least upper 6 GHz for IMT licensed use, while lower 6GHz should be considered as technology neutral basis.”
Du Yeqing, Huawei Vice President of 5G Product Line, highlighted that 2000MHz of mid-band spectrum per country is required in the coming five to ten years to support the need for higher-speed user experience with affordable services in a full 5G scenario. The 2.1/2.3/2.6/4.9 GHz bands have mature ecosystem and support 5G primary development, the same as C band. Industry partners are working together to ripen the 6 GHz ecosystem to meet the long-term needs of 5G.
Finally, Dr. Atsuko Okuda, Regional Director of ITU Asia and the Pacific gave closing remarks. Global harmonised spectrum is the key to wireless services which enables technologies and services to improve access, affordability and security as well as to secure the required investment.
The high level of participation made the session lively with interesting inquiries on agenda items of WRC-23, C band-related discussion for finding the right balance in key mid-band frequencies and growing interest around the region in the 6GHz band. The discussions would participants get involved in preparatory meetings for WRC-23 in a more informed way with an eye on digital connectivity for 5G and beyond.
Huawei has been honoured to be part of the Thailand's development for the past 23 years with the continuing support and collaboration of partners. Huawei is committed to fulfilling its "Grow in Thailand, Contribute to Thailand" mission by being a technology-leading and trusted ICT partner, proactive digital transformation enabler, and continuous social value contributor. Huawei is looking forward to empowering Thailand to become a digital hub in the ASEAN region, bringing digital to every person, every home and organisation, for a fully connected, intelligent Thailand.