The primary uses are Industry 4.0 and various campuses, but the spectrum is also being used in agriculture and forestry.
The German regulator, the Bundesnetzagentur (BNetzA), has published an incomplete list of organisations that have been assigned spectrum for 5G private networks – some withheld their permission to be named.
74 and more to come
A total of 74 frequency assignments have been made in the ten months since applications began. There continues to be a great interest in acquiring spectrum: the BNetzA is anticipating “a large number of applications” in future.
Its president, Jochen Homann, said, “By awarding spectrum for local 5G networks, we are creating scope for innovation for enterprises. There has been a great amount of interest in the spectrum, and we are anticipating a large number of applications still to come.”
Potential interference
Publishing the list of the assignments is to help potential interference between adjacent applications to be identified early on, the regulator said, adding, “In particular, it enables potential assignment holders to make arrangements with users of adjacent frequencies to ensure interference-free operation.”
The regulator allocates frequencies in the band at 3.700-3.800MHz for localised networks.