What is the best way of ensuring that vertical industries can get access to 5G spectrum? That is a difficult question which may not have a one-size-fits-all answer. Is the solution: Requiring MNOs to provide services to verticals (France in 3.5 GHz)? Local licensing in reserved spectrum (Germany in 3.5… Read more...

The Canadian government has announced its decision to make available 1200 MHz of 6 GHz spectrum for unlicensed services, joining the US, Brazil, South Korea, Saudi Arabia, Costa Rica and Peru who have adopted the same policy. It is a major accomplishment for advocates of unlicensed spectrum, chief among them being the OTT… Read more...

Governments around the world are becoming more and more wary of Big Tech. Even the Government in their home country, the United States, is considering sweeping anti-trust rules that could even see some of them broken up. Different stakeholders attack Big Tech for different things, but one aspect of technology… Read more...

One of the clear trends in the telecoms industry at the moment is operators' increasing interest in the use of Open RAN approaches to network buildout. The idea is to separate hardware and software components of Radio Access Networks and to standardise the interfaces in a network's architecture. This approach… Read more...

This week the FCC announced its plan to publish a Public Notice about implementing emission limits agreed at WRC-19 with respect to licences across the 24.25 - 25.25 GHz range. The spectrum was auctioned in Spring 2019, but later that year the World Radiocommunication Conference established much stricter limits than… Read more...

The latest PolicyTracker Spectrum Database quarterly update includes a spectrum auction that raised more money than any other. The wave of expensive 3G auctions in Europe at the height of the dotcom boom has become the stuff of legend in spectrum policy circles. Germany’s 2000 auction of the 2.1 GHz… Read more...

Irish mobile operators this week received the opportunity to extend their temporary spectrum licences for another three months. These licences were originally assigned as the COVID-19 pandemic escalated rapidly in Europe in early 2020. A flurry of regulators issued temporary spectrum authorisations, but normal spectrum management quickly resumed, and several… Read more...

The arson attacks on mobile masts last year, fuelled by online rumours of a link between 5G and COVID-19, demonstrated the power of campaigns against the new technology. The industry usually reacts with facts and sober analysis, but this doesn't cut through to the significant minority who continue to worry… Read more...

For decades individuals and organised groups have lobbied against mobile phones claiming health risks, but the recent anti-5G campaigns have had an unprecedented impact. Messaging penetration has been estimated at 50% and never before have these campaigns led to arson attacks on base stations. In this Research Note we examine… Read more...

In association with Epoch Strategic Communications, PolicyTracker can help improve your messaging on EMF issues. Which audiences should you be targeting? How can you reach them? How can you build trust? How should this integrate into wider communications and organisational strategies? How should you address health concerns? What can be… Read more...