How governments and mobile operators are easing network congestion during the COVID-19 crisis

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This article is brought to you thanks to the collaboration of The European Sting with the World Economic Forum.

Author: Mats Granryd, Director-General, GSMA

• Global Internet traffic has increased by about 30% in the past month.
• Mobile operators have been working closely with governments to help manage unprecedented traffic needs.

• Providing short-term/emergency spectrum licences to mobile network operators (MNOs) to access any portions of unallocated spectrum, renewable depending on national requirements
• Expediting the issue of short-term/trial licences to MNOs where new technologies may enable operators to assist on delivering or augmenting connectivity and deploying services on an ad-hoc basis
• Facilitating and expediting access to backhaul spectrum, which is used to connect base stations to the rest of the mobile network and the internet
• Extending deadlines for any ongoing transitions or renewals for licensees providing high-speed broadband and other critical services
• Removing red tape and restrictions on ways to immediately access more spectrum, including spectrum sharing

• United States. The United States Federal Communications Commission has granted short-term access to available mobile spectrum in important spectrum bands to provide additional mobile broadband capacity. These bands include both “coverage” bands (600 MHz) and “capacity” bands (1.7 -2.2 GHz). (Spectrum bands have different characteristics, making them suitable for different purposes. In general, frequencies below 1 GHz can travel greater distances and therefore they have better coverage. Higher-frequency transmissions carry more data, so they have greater capacity, without offering better coverage. Both types are needed to offer advanced mobile services to connect everyone and everything.)
• Ireland. The Commission for Communications Regulation (ComReg) in Ireland is temporarily releasing extra radio spectrum in the 700 MHz and 2.6 GHz bands to provide additional capacity for mobile phone and broadband provision and liberalizing the use of 2.1 GHz so that it can be used for 4G and other technologies, rather than just for 3G.
• Jordan. Jordan is releasing available spectrum to MNOs in coverage and capacity bands.
• Saudi Arabia. Saudi Arabia is releasing available spectrum to MNOs in coverage and capacity bands on a short-term basis (700MHz band).
• Tunisia. Tunisia is making all International Mobile Telecommunications (IMT) spectrum tech-neutral on a short-term basis. [This means that, rather than being earmarked for a specific technology (e.g. 3G or 4G), MNOs have the flexibility to use the spectrum for the technology that has the biggest impact.]
• Panama. In Panama, the Regulator (​Autoridad Nacional de los Servicios Públicos) will grant temporary spectrum licenses to MNOs for additional capacity upon request.
• Brazil. An agreement between MNOs and regulator Anatel in Brazil confirms that the agency will take any regulatory action necessary, including with spectrum, to make sure all services remain intact.
• South Africa. The regulator ICASA in South Africa is working with MNOs on “spectrum relief” (i.e. access to more spectrum) to increase capacity in the face of huge demand for data