Operators tell regulator UKE the market isn’t ready for 26GHz band and other mmWave bands
The Polish regulatory authority, The Office of Electronic Communications (UKE), has been told by operators that it is too early to allocate the 26GHz band and should instead push this out to 2026 and beyond due to a lack of network infrastructure that can support it and a lack of devices that can use it.
The regulator published submissions to its latest consultation into the 26GHz (24.25-27.5GHz) and 42GHz (40.5-43.5GHz) – which it originally kicked off in 2020. Even then, the analysis of the positions presented at that time showed, first of all, significant limitations in the availability of the required systems and equipment for the commercial launch of services and therefore the “impossibility of ensuring the principle of competitiveness”.
Operators called for the UKE to ask in in 2023 and basically, they have given the same answer in their submissions. While operators like the potential uses cases of network densification and industrial automation, they have signalled the market is not yet ready, with some suggested the regulator look at more pressing spectrum like 700MHz.
In its submission, T-Mobile proposes to allocate 26 GHz no earlier than after 2027. Orange Polska said its priority is not only to maximise the benefits related to the resources retained as a result of the C-band auction, but also meet the obligations arising from the reservation decision. Achieving this, it said, if it could also utilise 700MHz.
The operator said mmWave solutions were not widely available which was a “manifestation of the slower than expected development of the 5G technology ecosystem”. It added that in European markets there were no smartphones available to support this band. Orange says mmWave allocations should occur no earlier than 2026.
The operator suggested mmWave deployments will only occur in clusters or single base stations. It reiterated that each operator should be able to secure 800MHz but concedes that to do so, UKE will need to transfer some fixed services to other bands. Orange also warns the regulator that if it follows a similar pricing model to mid-band spectrum, mmWave will be unprofitable without a significant reduction in fees.
Play wants it moved further
In its submission Play (P4) wants to push the mmWave allocation out to 2027-2028 (or later). It said that currently, the development of user needs does not go beyond solutions that can be addressed within the 5G capacity available in the C band (i.e. 3.4-3.8GHz). The operator suggests that due to mmWave’s high capacity and low latency it will be deployed mainly “in cities that introduce intelligent solutions to support their functioning and in workplaces that decide to automate production, logistics or transport processes.”
Play requests the allocation of a minimum of 200MHz in one block, with the indication that the target configuration should provide for the use of a single block or several blocks with a maximum planned width of 400MHz for a single operator.
Like Orange Play is looking more at getting mid-band sorted. “The priority remains the allocation of a single block in the 800 MHz band and the 700 MHz band – which, thanks to their propagation properties, will allow the 5G signal to cover most of the territory of the Republic of Poland, fulfilling the EU assumptions regarding the coverage of cities and main routes by 2025 and meeting the obligations arising from reservation decisions in the band. 3400-3800MHz. The next band that should be made available for wireless communication are the n75 and n76 bands, i.e. the range from 1427 MHz to 1517 MHz, i.e. the so-called SDL,” it stated in its submission.