Frequency spectrum is one natural resource which all countries have been blessed with equitably. Mobile networks work on spectrum allocated either through a bidding process or through licenses granted to operate. In India, akin to similar allocation throughout the globe, spectrum is allotted by the WPC\/ DOT. Globally, ITU-R a standards body recommends and regulates spectrum bands for various applications. In turn, Mobile operators use allotted spectrum bands to deliver voice and data services on 2G, 3G and now 4G bearers.<\/p>

Over a period of time, since mobile services made its presence in India, operators have purchased spectrum in the same or different bands depending on their business strategy and sub base expansion. This has led to operators owning fragmented or \u201cnon-contiguous\u201d spectrum; the ones spread across the same band are undesirable. Such, chunks of fragmented spectrum has created inefficiency of this vital resource.
To top it all, the incessant demand for more spectrums to provide faster data speeds and QoS calls for perpetual spectrum management by the Indian regulator-WPC\/ DOT. From the operator\u2019s standpoint, it is these chunks of unused spots & guard bands which have led to inefficiencies and avoidable costs. Also, the \u2018freeing\u2019 up or harmonization of these chunks of spectrum will let the government auction and earn more revenues for the exchequer.<\/p>

The case in point is the excellent initiative taken by the DOT to harmonize the popular and most sort after spectrum, the1800 MHz band. This 1800 MHz harmonization process has led to a contiguous spectrum availability of 219.6 MHz in this band, for spectrum auction in 2016 and beyond. This band has emerged as the core GSM band, just behind the premium 900 MHz, due to the prowess it has in its ability to provide 4G - LTE services. Ideally, 5 MHz contiguous spectrum in this band is mandatory to provide high speed data. This where, the harmonization process completed by DOT is highly commendable. DOT ensured that all mobile operators and defense services that held large parts of the 1800 MHz band to come to the table - vacate unused spots and harmonize the band in the larger interest of the nation.<\/p>

This uniform allocation of spectrum comes with many advantages. It minimizes radio interference, improves Customer experience, facilitates international roaming and reduces the manufacturing cost of phone\/devices. Harmonization also leads to the complete utilization of the entire band, leading to spectrum efficiency, increased radio Capacity and lowering of Network costs. It will also enable our Defense services to modernize their communication infrastructure with Next Gen technologies, this I see as a resultant of this crucial exercise completed by DOT & MOD.<\/p>

Harmonization will bring significant advantages to all TSP\u2019s who will now gain access to these vacated contiguous spots; as we operators foresee this as a big opportunity to plan our technology roadmap and Network strategy. The clarity provided by this process will help us to offer high quality data speeds, improve the Quality perception and provide a solid platform for the Digital India story. This inspires us operators to the next phase of spectrum management by combining spectrums in different bands into what we describe as \u2018Carrier Aggregation\u2019 features.<\/p>

2. Carrier Aggregation:<\/p>

Future mobile data usage will continue rising as data tariffs are further rationalized. The Indian Subscriber base and business customers will continue to grow with new applications, content and services which are data hungry. The young and mobile users are now consuming @ 1.4GB pm and we see this moving to 4GB pm soon. Given this propensity to consume, mobile operators hunt for efficient and cost-effective solutions to support this explosive data growth and uneven data distribution. As always, spectrum will continue to be a limiting factor. The very nature of it being expensive and scarce will put pressure on the Network engineers to find new means to contain costs and synergize spectrum usage.<\/p>

Indian Telco\u2019s have acquired spectrum or carriers in multiple bands as they grew their Network size and proposition; moving from 2G to LTE \u2013 both TDD and FDD. Given the fact that majority of the operators are in this bucket, there is this desperate need to combine these carriers and stitch them into a \u2018single fabric\u2019. As a solution, operators globally are adopting Carrier Aggregation (CA) features to combine carriers. The ability to combine carriers makes this an interesting toolkit for operators.<\/p>

CA is an effective tool to combine fragmented operator spectrum across bands and deliver higher throughputs, for instance combine band 5 (850 MHz) and band 40 (2300 TDD) for 4G LTE. This in turn increases cell capacity and network efficiency and improves the customer experience dramatically. CA enables operators to maximize the return on those spectrum investments, as well as use unlicensed spectrum to supplement their portfolios. Increased data rates due to carrier aggregation can be traded off to get higher capacity for bursty applications, such as web browsing and video streaming applications. CA efficiency is larger than the sum of the parts as it provides the much desired high radio capacity and enhanced user experience.<\/p>

Another good CA solution is the B3 B40 CA application from the Indian perspective as it combines the 1800 FDD and 2300 TDD LTE carriers. The converged network also benefits the Interworking between LTE FDD\/ TDD. This will allow operators to seamlessly offer Mobile Broadband services on both FDD and TDD carriers simultaneously, making the most of their spectrum investments positive and provide enhanced capacity and improve consumer experience and QoS, leading to higher business profitability.
Some India specific band combinations as per 3GPP- TS.36.101<\/p>

FDD-FDD combinations:<\/p>

\u2022 B3 (1.8GHz FDD) + B5 (850MHz FDD)
\u2022 B3 (1.8GHz FDD) + B8 (900MHz FDD)<\/p>

FDD-TDD combinations:
\u2022 B8 900MHz FDD+ B40 2.3GHz TDD)
\u2022 B1 2.1GHz FDD+ B3 1.8GHz FDD?+ B40?2.3GHz TDD
\u2022 B1 2.1GHz FDD+ B8 900MHz FDD?+ B40?2.3GHz TDD
\u2022 B3 1.8GHz FDD+ B8 900MHz FDD?+ B40?2.3GHz TDD<\/p>

While the network CA features are ready for operators to put them on field, the handsets\/ device readiness to match the CA features is an issue. The LTE device ecosystem generally lags by 6-12 months. The alignment of the radio and device ecosystem for a successful LTE CA implementation is crucial. CA has also been designed to be a future-proof technology, by extending aggregation to more carriers and enabling aggregation of additional licensed spectrum through the initiatives by ITU-R and GTI. We believe, CA will play a key role in enabling both IMT-Advanced and the use of emerging spectrum allocations. However, this seemingly simple concept will continue to stretch the realm of telecom networks and devices. Strong & creative collaboration across the industry for further innovation and network optimization will drive CA as a mainstream technology feature.<\/p>

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