Controversy, compromise, and consensus: the latest World Radiocommunication Conference (WRC-19) at Sharm el-Sheikh had it all. Credit must go to the 3400 delegates from 165 ITU member states for their efforts not just over the four weeks of the conference, but throughout the preceding four years of preparatory studies and… Read more...

The most high-profile agenda item at WRC-19 was undoubtedly the identification of mmWave bands for IMT. While vendors had different emphases, there was in general broad support in the mobile industry for as many IMT identifications as possible, and preferably with few constraints. WRC-23, however, may be a little different.… Read more...

The statistics would suggest so. A new report from the European Commission’s 5G Observatory says that Italy is the only country in the 27-member European Union that has assigned spectrum in the 26 GHz band. Compare that with Asia, where South Korea, Japan, Hong Kong and Taiwan have awarded 26… Read more...

The satellite industry's worst fears did not materialise at WRC-19 and it declared itself pleased with the result. Existing services gained some protection against 5G in 26 GHz and 40 GHz but not in exactly the way the sector had hoped. There was good news for satellite in 28 GHz:… Read more...

The World Radiocommunication Conference, the conference that amends the international treaty on spectrum policy, is probably the most important regular event in spectrum policy. WRC-19, which concluded at the end of 2019, was no different. The event resulted in several high-profile compromises that will impact the spectrum policy landscape for… Read more...

Five countries assigned a total of 748 MHz of new spectrum for nationwide mobile broadband services in Q4 2019. This included the world’s first auction for the 4.9 GHz band. Parts of the band have already been assigned in mainland China and Japan by beauty contest, but Hong Kong held… Read more...

Understanding Modern Spectrum Management, being held in Central London from 20-23 April, is the perfect opportunity to step back and assess the wider issues affecting the field, including: Has spectrum liberalisation worked? Will CBRS fire the starting gun for spectrum sharing? Have spectrum auctions had their day? Does 5G change… Read more...

Telecoms renationalisation has skulked back to the political margins in the UK after the Labour party suffered its worst electoral defeat since 1935. Read more...

What were the key events which shaped spectrum management over the past ten years? We asked PolicyTracker staff and they gave a wide range of answers, including the growth of spectrum sharing, the US incentive auction, social networking going mobile and the banning of Huawei. Read more...

Firstly, a happy Christmas to you all and I hope you get at least a small break from work over the next few days. The PolicyTracker office will be closed next week and our news alerts service will be reduced over the holiday season. Secondly, this feels like a good… Read more...