Mobile broadband traffic to soar

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This was published 12 years ago

Mobile broadband traffic to soar

By Lucy Battersby

MOBILE broadband traffic will be 1000 times higher by the end of this decade than in 2007, requiring more spectrum to be allocated to mobile companies, the communications regulator will warn today.

About 1100 megahertz of spectrum will have to be allocated to mobile broadband by 2020 to accommodate the expected growth, 300 megahertz more than is available today.

Huge traffic ... mobile broadband us is rising exponentially.

Huge traffic ... mobile broadband us is rising exponentially.

However, the industry will have to decide which spectrum users - satellite owners, government agencies and television broadcasters - will have to make way for mobile broadband.

The Australian Communications and Media Authority (ACMA) will release its analysis of spectrum requirements up to 2020, asking for industry input.

''ACMA estimates that an additional 150 megahertz of spectrum will be required by 2020,'' its report states. This is on top of the spectrum the industry expects to gain once the switchover from analog to digital television signals is complete.

''However it is the issue of identifying which frequency bands and how the spectrum may be made available for use by future mobile broadband services that will take time and careful consideration.''

Spectrum demand for mobile broadband is expected to peak by 2018 and then decline as mobile networks becomes more efficient, more infrastructure is rolled out and consumers use more wifi networks.

However, the authority estimates data traffic on mobile networks will keep rising to 1081 times what it was in 2007. This is more than today's carriers estimate, because they have not taken into account the growth in machine to machine communications over mobile networks, according to senior ACMA officials.

A 2006 consultation found much industry interest in the 3700 to 4200 megahertz band, which is presently allocated to satellite companies.

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''Fixed satellite service operators that commented on this band strongly opposed any allocation in this segment of spectrum,'' the authority notes in its paper.

It also mentions that other countries have started investigating the use of satellite spectrum for mobile broadband. And that ''with the available spectrum below 4.3 gigahertz becoming scarce, it is prudent to consider mobile broadband use in bands not traditionally recognised for their use''.

The authority manages spectrum allocation for the government. Mobile carriers seek out particular frequencies depending on which areas they cover. Lower frequencies travel over long distances, while higher frequencies work best in built-up areas.

Getting an allocation on the same frequency as mobile carriers in other countries can also lower handset prices, because handsets are made for certain spectrum bands in bulk.

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