CEPT
ECC
Electronic Communications Committee
ECC PT1(14)050
ECC PT1
ECC PT1 #46
Luxembourg, 28 April – 2 May 2014
Date issued: 2014-04-22
Source: UMTS Forum
Subject: Study on spectrum uses, trends and demands in
the range 3400 – 4200 MHz (C-Band)
Password protection required? (Y/N)
N
Summary:
In a study commissioned by CGI Business Consulting, France, for UMTS Forum, it is concluded that the
demands for satellite transponder equivalents (TPEs) in the C-band have come to a halt and will remain
flat up to years 2021 / 2022. One referenced market study is suggesting that the demand for TPEs will
retract in this period.
The introduction of new technologies in the satellite industry, such as Adaptive Coding and Modulation
(ACM) high capacity medium earth orbit (MEO) satellites etcetera, is allowing for a gradual shift from the
C-band to the higher frequency Ka- and Ku-bands.
Proposal:
The CEPT ECC PT1 meeting is invited to consider the study below on uses, trends and demands in the
range 3400 – 4200 MHz.
UMTS Forum is also inviting the meeting to consider the further work in relation to the C-band both in the
context of market requirements in Europe and the regulatory process in preparation for the ITU WRC-15
with the aim of making further spectrum available for use of mobile broadband applications.
Background:
The study below on uses, trends and demands is developed for the convenience and consideration of the
CEPT ECC PT1 meeting with the objective to show that different countries are already using the bands in
the 3400 – 4200 MHz under different national schemes having previously making choices on how to use
this range subject to national circumstances.
UMTS Forum is of the view that the current as well as the estimated future uses of FSS in this range
would provide room for broadband MFCN, including IMT, in bands in the range 3400 – 4200 MHz for
application in countries that so wish.
Accordingly, there should be an opportunity for countries that so wish to share this range of spectrum
between broadband MFCN, including IMT, and systems in the FSS.
Study on spectrum uses, trends and demands in the range 3 400-4 200 MHz
Introduction
The study on spectrum uses, trends and demands in the range 3400 – 4200 MHz is based
mainly on information from the public domain, followed by assessments where information is
complemented and compiled. Information is also obtained by direct interviews (conducted with
representatives of different countries’ spectrum management organizations).
The key sources used by CGI Business Consulting1 while performing the study for UMTS
Forum include
●
satellite industry information;
●
contribution documents submitted to various organizations;
●
commercial and free online satellite databases;
●
countries studies and reports, and
●
industry inputs from analyst research companies.
Background
Since the ITU WRC-07, when it was recognized that an allocation to the mobile service and the
Identification to IMT was justified by demands, the market circumstances have changed
considerably; markedly several new satellite technologies, as well as terrestrial technologies,
have appeared and are being deployed, or being planned to be deployed.
These new satellite technologies are more cost and spectral efficient and will come to replace
the current ones that are losing market shares while providing a digital dividend.
Evidently, some services have been replaced by others over time and looking at the market
situation for satellite operations, the deployment of e.g. fiber optical cables has significantly
reduced the need for VSAT.
This study report highlights the impact from optical IP based fiber trunking with the arrival of
submarine cables to African countries, which has significantly increased the available capacity
and connectivity in the region, just as it earlier occurred in Asia and Latin America.
Besides, new technologies like Adaptive Coding and Modulation (ACM) for satellites in the Kaand Ku-bands are becoming more and more accepted also in the many regions where rain
fades are more frequent. This trend is leading to a migration from the C-band to the Ku-band,
but also to the Ka-Band in some instances, for e.g. the VSAT services. A similar trend is also
underway for the government and defense uses, as well as for satellite news gathering (SNG)
and other legacy C-band operations to move to the Ku- and Ka-bands.
Considering the continuing mobile traffic growth as well as the increasing number of
subscriptions, (an increase of 40 % of mobile broadband subscription in 2013, exceeding 6.6
billion2), the importance of the availability of harmonized spectrum is more than ever raising the
crucial question of additional spectrum for International Mobile Telecommunications (IMT) to
facilitate the development of terrestrial mobile broadband applications, in accordance with
Resolution 233 (WRC-12).
The scope of the study was defined as comprising the following tasks
●
gather information regarding the C-Band (3400 – 4200 MHz);
●
identify regulations and experiences in a sample of representative countries from all the ITU Regions
(40 countries);
●
review, challenge and subsequently include relevant elements of the previous UMTS Forum study
results, and
1
http://www.cgi.fr/metier/conseil.
2
Ericsson Mobility Report, On the Pulse of the networked Society, Ericsson, November 2013
(http://www.ericsson.com/res/docs/2013/ericsson-mobility-report-november-2013.pdf)
2
●
identify the market trends and the expected / estimated future market demands for satellite
applications per region.
The methodology used
CGI Business Consulting has used a pragmatic approach to gather reliable information, using
four main different information sources
●
interviews with relevant National Regulatory Authorities (NRAs);
●
email correspondence with some NRAs;
●
when available, public sources such as regulators’ websites, third-party reports and databases, and
●
UMTS Forum additional inputs and previous UMTS Forum study results regarding the C-band
Spectrum usage.
As requested by the UMTS Forum, CGI Business Consulting has studied a sample of 40
representative countries from all ITU Region

ITU Region
Geographical area
Number of Country
1
Europe
6
1
Middle East and North Africa
7
1
Sub-Sahara Africa
7
2
Americas
10
3
Asia-Pacific
10

General information on the study and key findings
●
the study is indeed based on 40 countries, however and notably, each country Administration is
having specific use and views on the C-band;
●
on a national level, climate conditions, the size of country, the quality of terrestrial networks and
population density are key differentiation factors related to the use of the C-band, and
●
several new technologies have appeared in the satellite industry (e.g. ACM and MEO satellites)
allowing the gradual move from C-band to others band like Ka- and Ku-bands.
Europe findings
●
in many EU member states the 3400 – 3600 MHz band is licensed to network operators using
WiMAX (an IMT family standards);
●
the number of European FSS earth stations using the range 3800 – 4200 MHz is very low compared
to other regions of the world suggesting that this range is underused; while there is about eight times
the number of those few earth stations using the band 3400 – 3800 MHz, and

considering the limited number of FSS earth stations, it would be possible to introduce IMT mobile
broadband also in the range 3800 – 4200 MHz by means of geographical sharing, both in countries
and between countries.
Middle East and North Africa findings
●
in the Arabic speaking region, the C-band is used for FSS (VSAT systems, backhauling or
broadcasting applications for example);
●
in many countries the 3400 – 3600 MHz band is licensed to network operators using WiMAX (an IMT
family standards), and
●
in some countries, still an introduction of IMT mobile broadband services could be considered.
Sub-Sahara Africa findings
●
the band 3400 – 4200 MHz is used for FSS earth stations throughout Africa;
●
in some countries the 3400 – 3600 MHz band is licensed to network operators using WiMAX (an IMT
family standards), and
●
in some countries, still an introduction of IMT mobile broadband services could be considered.
3
Asia-Pacific findings
●
the C-band is mainly used for FSS;
●
in many countries the 3400 – 3600 MHz band is licensed to network operators using WiMAX (an IMT
family standards), and
●
some parts of the C-band are already considered for further mobile broadband use in some
countries.
Americas findings
●
the C-band is mainly used for FSS and radars (only in North America);
●
in many countries the 3400 – 3600 MHz band is licensed to network operators using WiMAX (an IMT
family standards), and
●
some parts of the C-band are already considered for further mobile broadband use in some
countries.
Other findings
Given the current trend of increasing traffic, some mobile broadband operators are looking to
short term to improve their networks to the good of the consumers by integrating new small cell
and hot spot coverage layers with wide area layers with the objective to provide more capacity
and richer services, by adding the range 3400 – 3800 MHz which is ideal for such coverage3.
The whole range 3400 – 4200 MHz will play a more and more important role in the future, as
traffic grows and the frequency bands below 3 GHz will be congested. This frequency band will
play a considerable role in the LTE evolution and future innovation of the IMT-Advanced
technologies.
Although in many European Union (EU) member states the 3400 – 3600 MHz band is allocated
to WiMAX technologies, operators are now preparing for a future transition to LTE. Regarding
Europe, as defined in the RSPP article 3, “In order to focus on the priorities of this Decision,
Member States and the Commission shall cooperate to support and achieve the following policy
objectives: […]seek to allocate sufficient and appropriate spectrum in a timely manner to
support Union policy objectives and to best meet the increasing demand for wireless data traffic,
thereby allowing the development of commercial and public services, while taking into account
important general interest objectives such as cultural diversity and media pluralism; to that end,
every effort should be made to identify, based on the inventory established pursuant to Article 9,
at least 1200 MHz of suitable spectrum by 2015”. Thus, the range 3400 – 3800 MHz is
representing an essential resource for the fulfillment of the 1200 MHz objective.
The decisions that will be taken in the WRC-15 will have a considerable impact on the
development and advancements of the mobile broadband market and on the evolution of
technology and networks.
Description of the C-band and main characteristics
The C-band was allocated to FSS and used by the satellite industry since the first networks
were deployed over 40 years ago. Even though today’s satellite networks also use higher
frequency bands, the C-band remains of importance primarily because transmissions in this
band do not appreciably degrade in rainy condition.
While other frequency bands may be used by commercial FSS operators, specifically the Ku
and Ka-bands, these bands are not always practical alternatives for some C-band applications.
The level of rain attenuation in the Ku- and Ka-bands means that the level of availability of Cband cannot always be achieved in some regions of the world. Main advantages of C-band for
FSS are as listed below
●
less rain fading, leading to the use of lower gain satellite antennas;
3
The full spectrum of possibilities, Meeting future demand for commercial mobile broadband
services in Europe, A manufacturer’s perspective, Huawei, August 2013
4
●
large coverage area, providing coverage to sparsely covered regions that otherwise would have
been uncovered, or outside of a satellite spot beam except in northernmost and southernmost areas
where coverage is limited or absent;
●
widely-dispersed earth station sites, which can be connected within a single satellite beam, so the
satellite network is fully adaptable to geographical changes in traffic distribution, and
●
these features of C-Band are particularly relevant to subtropical regions, whereby due to their
geographic location may not always be adequately serviced by Ku- or Ka-band satellite networks.
It is our understanding there are today approximately 180 geostationary satellites operating in
the C-band. C-band satellites continue to be launched, reflecting a continued demand for Cband satellite applications around the world. However, there are satellite networks being or
planned to be launched without C-band transponders.
Analysis of the C-band
From the research, by means of extensive interviews of national regulators and gathering of
information from other stakeholders and public sources, this information has subsequently been
collected in a database format. From the database it was possible to draw up an analytical
report of the current usage of the band. The analysis is based on this CGI Business Consulting
database.
Uses in the range 3400 – 3800 MHz
The band 3400 – 3600 MHz contains mainly fixed radio link (FRL) systems, fixed wireless
access (FWA) systems and broadband wireless access (BWA) systems. The pie chart below
shows the distribution of uses for the band 3400 - 3600 MHz.
FIGURE 1
Distribution of uses in band 3400 - 3600 MHz based on the data of the 40 studied countries
Fixed Wireless Access is a wireless access application in which the location of the end user termination and the network access point to be
connected to the end user are fixed. WiMAX is the most used FWA technology. Broadband Wireless Access is wireless access in which the
connection(s) capabilities are very high (more than 1544 kbit/s ). Thus, BWA is the overall term for wireless access that covers fixed, mobile and
nomadic wireless access.
5
The band 3600 – 3800 MHz contains mainly FWA, FRL and satellite systems. This sub-band
shows different uses depending on the geographical region.
In Europe and Africa, the uses in band 3600 – 3800 MHz are similar to the uses in the band
3400 – 3600 MHz while in some Latin America and Asian-Pacific countries the uses are quite
the same as in range 3800 – 4200 MHz. To sum up, the uses found, in the band 3600 – 3800
MHz, are either similar to the uses in the bands 3400 – 3600 MHz and 3800 – 4200 MHz
subject to regional or national circumstances.
From the data collected during the study (collected in a database), we were able to draw a world
map of the distribution by country that currently have FWA, BWA or mobile systems in the range
3400 – 3800 MHz (either for the whole range 3400 – 3800 MHz or limited to the band 3 400 –
3600 MHz).
FIGURE 2
Distribution by country that currently have FWA, BWA or Mobile Services in the range 3400–3800 MHz
(either for the whole range 3400-3800 MHz or limited to the band 3400–3600 MHz)
Green countries with use
Blue countries with no use
Orange countries where data is missing
Grey out of scope
Approximately 90 % of the studied countries have FWA, BWA or mobile systems in operational
use in the 3400 – 3800 MHz frequency band.
Uses in the range 3800 – 4200 MHz
The range 3800 – 4200 MHz contains FRL systems and satellite systems. The pie chart below
shows how the uses are distributed for the range 3800 – 4200 MHz.
6
FIGURE 3
Distribution of uses in the range 3800 – 4200 MHz based on the data of the 40 studied countries
The uses of FRL systems and satellite systems are not correlated with regard to geography,
country, infrastructures development and climate conditions, one service or the other is clearly
more used in this part of the band. For example, the point of contact in a North African country
made it clear that this part of spectrum was more used by FRL systems in comparison with
satellite systems. Due to the weather conditions in this country, there is a very limited use of
satellite systems.
On the contrary, other countries with very heavy rainfall have a limited use of FRL systems in
the band and depend on the use of this range of spectrum for satellite systems. For example,
the use of satellite systems is widespread in one of Latin American countries in the study, due to
its climate characteristics, but also due to its continental dimensions and limited access to
telecommunications infrastructure in parts of the country. Until the telecommunication
infrastructure would be expanded, this will remain to be one reason for that Administration to
support the use of satellite systems in C-band.
Focus on satellite applications
In the supporting database it is possible to see that the satellite applications in this range of
spectrum are for example
●
media distribution and broadcast e.g. using direct to home (DTH) or television receive-only (TVRO)
systems in Latin America;
●
data networks with VSAT, in Africa;
●
feeder links in some countries in Asia-Pacific;
●
satellite news gathering (SNG) in some Middle East countries;
●
tracking, telemetry and command in some countries Asia-Pacific;
●
mobile Backhaul in some countries in North Africa, and
●
Government use in North America.
Key findings on uses
One of the uses of the C-band has been to provide Internet by satellite to remote areas,
particularly in Africa. However, today, the development of fiber optic cables in Africa and the
7
technology evolutions for Ku- and Ka-band satellites make the C-band for Internet connectivity
less attractive.
The range 3800 - 4200 MHz still seems to be important for the satellite industry particularly in
countries that have extensive continental area with part of the population in remote rural areas
and/or where the climate is characterized by intensive but short-lived rainfall. Limited access to
terrestrial telecommunications infrastructure in some parts of the world to connect isolated
regions is also an element that C-band satellite use can satisfy. Indeed satellite communications
is the easiest way to rapidly provide communications to remote and rural areas. For example, a
regulator in a Latin American country explains that Internet access would not be possible in the
waste remote region without the use of satellite trunk links in C-band. In addition to
complementing submarine cables, satellite communications are also said to be an important
backup for such cables that are vulnerable to being cut as a result of geological movements.
Globally, countries that do not match the characteristics previously mentioned (climate with
heavy rainfall, isolated population on an extensive continental area with lack of terrestrial
infrastructure) are not fundamentally against the introduction of IMT-Advanced in the range
3400 – 3800 MHz, quite the opposite. In these countries, some are even in favour of the idea of
sharing between the mobile service (MS) and FSS; again, countries with some particular
national circumstances may consider possible and particular coexistence conditions applying
e.g. ASA/LSA to alleviate the risk for interference to incumbent systems.
Market trends and demand for uses in the C-band
Over the years, satellite uses in the C-band have changed while several new technologies have
appeared on the market. New services, being more cost effective, come to replace less efficient
older ones. New satellite network being placed on the market are announcing the move to other
bands where the national conditions so allow for climate and density of population reasons.
In the mobile industry, the LTE–Advanced technology is the new internationally high performing
service whose capabilities are unmatched by other mobile technologies. The Global mobile
Suppliers Association (GSA) report, “Evolution to LTE” reports that 2013 ends with 260 LTE
networks in service on a global basis, mainly using the LTE FDD access scheme4. From early
2011, also the LTE TDD access scheme has been deployed in several big cities in Asia. For the
future evolution, the bands 3400 – 3600 MHz and 3600 – 3800 MHz are emerging as a key
band for both high peak data rate macro and small cells systems5.
Looking at the circumstances for the satellite industry, for example one country in Africa is
significant; the deployment of fiber optic cables has almost disrupted all use of VSAT, which is
also representative for the situation in some other countries. Clearly some services have been
replaced by others. Indeed, according to public information from the Global Assessment of
Satellite Supply & Demand, 9th Edition published in August 2012 by the US and UK based
analysis firm Northern Sky Research (NSR), a global leader in providing satellite industry
market research, some legacy services, such as point-to-point telephony and carrier services,
demand have been ceding to expanding to fiber and undersea cable. The NSR report highlights
the fact that a similar change happened to satellite IP trunking with the arrival of undersea
cables around coastal Africa which impacted IP trunking in that region from about year 2010 just
as it has occurred in Asia and Latin America before. Besides, new technologies like Adaptive
Coding and Modulation (ACM) for satellites in Ka- and Ku-bands for example are becoming
more and more accepted even in many regions where rain fade is important where ACM could
be used to combat fading6.
4
http://www.gsacom.com/news/gsa_397.php.
5
1000x: More Spectrum—Especially for Small Cells, Qualcomm, November
(http://www.qualcomm.com/media/documents/1000x-more-spectrum-especially-small-cells);
6
2013
Global Assessment of Satellite Supply & Demand, 9th Edition, NSR's report, August 2012
(http://www.nsr.com/research-reports/satellite-communications).
8
As explained earlier, with regard to the country in Africa, exemplified above, this trend is leading
to a migration of former C-band VSAT networking services to Ku-band, and even Ka-band in
some instances. A similar trend is also underway in the government and military market as well
as satellite news gathering (SNG) services as legacy C-band provisioning moves to the newer
Ku- and Ka-band services. All of these examples suggest that there is a gradual transition to
Ku-band, Ka-band and high throughput satellite (HTS7) systems.
Regarding the demand situation for satellite industry, it is our belief that in the next 1 – 2 years,
more attractive new services will develop; new satellite backhaul services primarily based on
lower cost HTS capacity and new alternatives satellite configurations. One satellite company
deliver broadband connectivity everywhere on Earth, but within 45 degrees of latitude north and
south of the equator in the most populated areas of the globe, unfortunately leaving half of the
surface of the globe uncovered. This satellite network operates in the higher-frequency Ka-band
and has the capability to deliver 10 antenna beams per region in 7 regions at a data speed of
1.2 Gbps per antenna beam8.
Regarding the demand situation for mobile industry, and focusing on IMT-Advanced, providing
an example is the best way to fully understand the trends and the potential of LTE: in a country
in Asia-Pacific, the population of mobile subscribers outnumbered the total population in year
2011. “The large scale trial of LTE is spreading across more than 100 cities and all the leading
telecom equipment vendors have participated and come up with new solutions and applications.
Moreover, user behavior has dramatic change compared with a couple of years ago.
Smartphones were established as the top listed “Chinese New Year” gift in countries in the
region. While people are in the queue of waiting, no matter in subways, bus stops, café,
shopping malls or lifts, they engage with web social networking and video content applications.
It is common phenomenon for one person holds more than two smart connected devices.
Sources from that country in Asia-Pacific show that the data traffic of year 2012 grew more than
600 times compared to 2011. We witness the similar phenomenon in other countries, for
example in the region. The research firm Strategy Analytics predicts the shipments of LTE
smartphones will triple next year, rising from this year’s 91 million to 275 million.”9
If we have a more detailed look at the C-band; for the band 3400 – 3600 MHz, most of CEPT
administrations have issued the license of FWA applications and many operators that have
deployed WiMAX look to move to LTE. In the Asia-Pacific region, following the ITU Radio
Regulations (RR) allocations including 5.432A, 5.432B and 5.433A footnotes, the bands 3400 –
3500 MHz and 3500 – 3600 MHz are allocated for the mobile service on primary basis and/or
identified for IMT in many countries. The future of these bands, also often used for satellite
systems in the FSS in these countries, is not considered the same way in all countries in AsiaPacific. Some countries have decided they will implement LTE, whereas others give priority to
satellite systems over other services10. In the ITU Region 2, there are also different uses,
notably between North America and Latin America: one country in North America seems to be
in favour of the implementation of IMT-Advanced in parts of the range 3500 – 3700 MHz, under
a possible shared use practice. A regulator from one Latin American country is supporting the
use of satellite systems; indeed, that regulator highlights the fact that C-band was the only
reliable satellite band because C-band signals are resistant to atmospheric conditions,
particularly in the subtropical regions of Americas, Equatorial Africa and Asia-Pacific, also
pointing out the fact that if IMT-Advanced were to be made compatible with satellite systems, a
certain protected zone around each Earth station would be required. The deployment of IMTAdvanced and systems beyond IMT-Advanced applications in the band 3600 – 4200 MHz would
7
Global Assessment of Satellite Supply & Demand, 9th Edition, NSR's report, August 2012
(http://www.nsr.com/research-reports/satellite-communications)
8
http://www.o3bnetworks.com.
9
TDD
Global
Spectrum
Report,
TD
Industry
Alliance,
2012
(http://www.tdia.cn/downloads/PDF/TDDGlobalSpectrumReport%EF%BC%882012%EF%BC%89.pdf).
10
TDD
Global
Spectrum
Report,
TD
Industry
Alliance,
2012
(http://www.tdia.cn/downloads/PDF/TDDGlobalSpectrumReport%EF%BC%882012%EF%BC%89.pdf)
9
thus most certainly be severely limited over cities in the world particularly where satellite
broadcasting services for direct to home (DTH) is used. This view has been expressed by a
11
number of CITEL member countries .
However, Authorised Shared Access (ASA) and the implementation of macro and small cells as
well as exploring indoor systems using LTE may provide for a way forward for shared uses in
the 3400 – 3800 MHz band in some countries where a well-defined licensing practice does not
provide an option for IMT.
Trying to forecast satellite transponder (TPE) demand in the C-band is a broad exercise.
Indeed, looking at different estimations, it is possible to get certain, but somewhat diverting,
conclusions from two major specialized firms. While NSR predicts that worldwide C-band
demand will drop by approximately 190 TPEs between years 2012 and 2022 / 2021, another
company Euroconsult explains that the demand in C-band should again start increase at a slow
pace in the next eight years after having been flat since 2012. Again, according to Euroconsult,
the C-band should reach around 3000 TPE units by 2022, up from around 2575 in 2012 12. This
slight and returned growth is expected to be reported in some emerging regions, where a
number of customers especially consider the low sensitivity to rain fade as a key advantage.
Concerning the applications, C-band will be used primarily for telecom traffic (e.g. trunking,
backhauling, and VSAT networks) and for the delivery of TV channels to terrestrial networks in
certain regions (Americas in particular). The main explanation for this unusual trend of initially a
flat market and later a slight growth is that the satellite industry is a “relatively slow-moving”
industry and that if new technologies have an impact on older ones, it takes years to change.
Euroconsult underlines that as a limiting factor, the C-band, more than the Ku-band, is still likely
to be in competition with the Ka-band in certain areas, especially corporate networks and
broadband access which is adding to the uncertainty of the demand forecast.
FIGURE 4
Regular Capacity-Demand by frequency band (2008-2022, in TPEs)
11
Report, Seminar on Fixed and Mobile Satellite Services,
(https://www.citel.oas.org/en/Pages/Seminars-and-Workshops.aspx).
12
CITEL,
April
7,
Euroconsult study, Satellite communications and Broadcasting markets survey, 20th edition
10
2013
13
On the other hand, according to NSR analyst , the dominant market for C-band remains to be
video distribution. Growth in channels of all flavors, such as standard definition (SD), high
definition (HD), Ultra HD or three dimensional (3D) TV systems will continue in several markets
around the world. As the chart below shows, global C-band transponder demand is predicted to
remain relatively flat or increase slightly between years 2011 and 2016, and then demand will
begin to drop off from year 2017 and onwards.
FIGURE 5
Global C-band TPE demand by application
Source: http://www.nsr.com/
A summary conclusion from the above could accordingly be that the demands for TPEs in the
C-band have come to a halt and will remain flat for the years to come up to years 2021 / 2022.
Euroconsult communicates additionally that HTS capacity (mainly Ka-band, with certain
systems operating in Ku-band and, to a lesser extent, C-band) still remains the minority of the
market and is currently still very much North America-centric. The future growth for the HTS is,
however, expected to be more significant than the growth of regular capacities. The market
value of HTS capacity should triple within the next two years. This may be an indicator where
the focus of the satellite industry and businesses will be in the future.
Demand trends by Region14
Europe
According to Euroconsult, in Western Europe, usage of C-band is limited. In year 2012,
transponder demand was estimated to be 67 units, down from 72 units in 2011. The arrival of
submarine cables in Africa and the volume of traffic between Europe and the African continent
may have negatively impacted demand. Transponder demand in C-band is expected to slowly
decrease in the next eight years due to decreasing needs for international traffic trunking and
because most other services will be in Ku- or Ka-bands. Transponder demand should stand at
around 42 units by year 2022.
Middle East and North Africa
Euroconsult indicates that C-band usage is expected to decrease in the coming ten-year period
to 260 transponders in year 2022. While certain leases for services, such as those related to
13
14
http://www.nsr.com/news-resources/the-bottom-line/fear-not-for-c-band/.
This part is mainly based on Euroconsult study.
11
military communications, may be abandoned in the C-band for other frequency bands, some
churn from regular satellites to HTS satellite payloads could be observed.
Sub-Sahara Africa
Due to the impact of the arrival of submarine cables in Sub-Saharan Africa and to the transfer of
part of the international trunking traffic, C-band usage had limited growth over the last few years
prior to year 2012. Last year, however, growth in usage was stronger, from an estimated 252
units in year 2011 to 268 units in year 2012. Transponder demand in C-band is expected to
amount to approximately 297 units by year 2017 and 316 units by year 2022. Most of the growth
should come from video distribution services.
North America
Demand for C-band could decrease to around 451 units by year 2017 before increasing to 473
units by year 2022. Limited growth in capacity requirements for video distribution, coupled with
demand for telecom services mostly focused on either the Ku- or Ka-bands, should negatively
impact the total growth.
Latin America
Growth in demand for C-band is expected to be lower than for Ku-band in the coming eight-year
period, but it will still lead to 606 units leased by year 2022. Lower growth in the C-band
compared to Ku-band will be due to the lower expansion of telecom traffic compared to TV
broadcasting, as well as to the switch from limited services to HTS satellite payloads.
Nevertheless, growth in C-band demand is expected to be favoured by both telecom and video
applications.
Asia-Pacific
In Southern Asia, C-band demand could reach about 245 transponders by year 2017 and more
than 283 transponders by year 2022. While the development of telecom network services will
support some growth, the deployment of HTS capacities in other bands will limit it. However
video distribution services will also support increasing demand.
In North-East Asia, a slight decrease in C-band demand should lead to lower fill rates of the
transponders in the next two years to three years. Transponder demand in C-band is expected
to decrease over the forecast period to 37 units in year 2022.
In Central Asia, a recent lack of demand in C-band may be associated with redefined priorities
between national and international markets. Based on expected growth in telecom services and
video distribution applications, transponder demand in C-band should reach around 206 units
by year 2017 and 255 units by year 2022.
In the Pacific, transponder usage in C-band was estimated to stand at 51 units in year 2012,
down from the year 2011 total of 56 units. Usage has remained largely flat over the last four
years with an estimated demand of 51 – 56 units. Transponder demand in C-band will likely be
impacted by slowly growing demand for traffic trunking in the coming years and by the
progressive transfer of terminals from “regular” satellite capacity to HTS satellite systems. By
year 2022, transponder demand in C-band is expected to stand at 56 units.
Conclusions
Countries are having diverging uses and positions on the range 3400 – 4200 MHz (C-band)
providing a fragmented representation of conditions. Even so, this study, based on 40 countries,
is offering a representative summary view on the C-band usage on a global basis. Through the
results, it can be noticed that climate conditions, size of countries, quality of terrestrial networks
and population densities are key differentiation factors related to the C-band adoption at
national level while considering the opportunities to share with IMT-Advanced application in the
mobile service.
The demands for transponder equivalents (TPEs) in the C-band have come to a halt and will
remain flat up to year 2021 / 2022. The introduction of new technologies in the satellite industry,
such as Adaptive Coding and Modulation (ACM), and high capacity medium earth orbit (MEO)
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satellites etcetera is allowing for a gradual shift from the C-band to higher frequency Ka- and
Ku-bands.
The trends of increased mobile broadband uses and numbers of subscriptions are confirming
the need for urgent reviews of the sharing opportunities with the satellite service with regard to
the spectrum allocations for use of IMT in the C-band.
Based on the studied countries, the findings are suggesting that there is already a trend in the
countries, to consider allocations to the mobile service and identifications for IMT.
On the band 3400 – 3600 MHz, opportunities are already identified and most of the countries
wish to harmonize this band for mobile broadband usage.
In CEPT, also the band 3600 – 3800 MHz, opportunities are already identified and several
countries wish to harmonize this band for broadband MFCN usage.
On the 3800 – 4200 MHz band, there are many ongoing discussions on sharing feasibility.
At the European Union level, the availability of the C-band–mainly 3400 – 3800 MHz is essential
for the fulfillment of the “1200 MHz objective”. This C-band offers opportunity to extend the
harmonization of the band allocation.
Our view is that geographical separation and/or the usage of macro and small cell (low power)
as well as indoor use for IMT networks would be facilitating spectrum sharing between IMT and
satellite systems in FSS subject to different geographical sharing approaches including the use
of protection zones.
Furthermore, we are of the view that lessons learned based on concrete experiences from early
deployments of IMT could be exploited to accelerate the allocations of additional spectrum in
this range. Understanding the study results from some countries will be key in order to define a
roadmap with regard to spectrum evolutions.
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