Small cells are central to many 5G business cases. Regulatory conditions related to small cells will impact operator investment plans, costs and deployment timeframes. Based on an extensive literature review, there is surprisingly limited evidence of national regulations specifically addressing small cells. Read more...

China's mobile operators continue to be very active in preparing for 5G and hope to launch services by 2020. China continues to promote TDD technologies and is considering allocating 4.5 GHz for 5G Read more...

Brazil is still planning to award spectrum in the 3.5 GHz band for 5G and to award the 700 MHz spectrum that was left unsold after an auction in 2014. It does not support the use of the 28 GHz band for 5G. Read more...

France's four main mobile network operators (MNOs) have all started testing 5G in the 3.5 GHz band, and consultations are underway on the 26 GHz band. The government's "new deal" with the MNOs has been hailed as an innovative way to improve 4G coverage. Consolidation remains a strong possibility. Read more...

Japan will be hosting the Olympic and Paralympic Games in 2020 and the country plans to use the event as a showcase for new technologies such as 5G. Japan is one of the countries interested in using 28 GHz for 5G, even though the band was not selected for further… Read more...

PolicyTracker's Research Service provides population density data in our database and this is shown in maps for the major economies. The list of maps and their notable features is contained in this Research Note.  Read more...

With the 600 MHz incentive auction now complete, US regulator the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) is trying to accelerate the development of 5G. Read more...

82% of the Swedish population live in ~13% of the country's land mass; 31% of population live in 'intensively built-up' areas which make up less than 1% of the land mass. The western and northern regions contain areas with very few people (less than 5 people per km2) and make… Read more...

Canada is now preparing to follow the US in auctioning spectrum in the 600 MHz band. Its government is also looking at other bands for 5G and plans to auction spectrum in the 3.5 GHz band next. Read more...

Austria expects to start auctioning spectrum for 5G in autumn this year. In 2018 and 2019, the plan is to award frequencies in the 700 MHz, 1500 MHz, 2100 MHz and 3.4-3.8 GHz bands. Read more...