UK Spectrum Policy Forum Plenary - Tuesday 3 February 2015 Rachel Clark, Director of Spectrum Policy, Ofcom Spectrum Sharing More information at: http://www.techuk.org/about/uk-spectrum-policy-forum All rights reserved

1. Spectrum Sharing
Rachel Clark, Director of Spectrum Policy
3 February 2015

2. 1
• Why spectrum sharing?
• Issues to be considered
• Dynamic spectrum sharing – TV White Space
• Next Steps

3. What do we mean by Spectrum sharing
• When we talk about spectrum sharing we simply mean spectrum that is used by more
than one access method or type of user for more than one type of use
• we have measured where there are different uses in the same band (Ofcom managed,
licence exempt, block assigned, Space Science, Public Sector, or two or more Ofcom
Managed licence classes (e.g. Fixed links and satellite)
• This analysis shows sharing occurs in 58% of the spectrum bands.
• This is likely to be an underestimate of sharing as it does not include sharing between
users and uses within spectrum that is exclusively used by the public sector or space
science.
• And where spectrum is shared it is normally extensively shared, by more than two uses
with as many as 4 sharing the same spectrum
2

4. Market access: 75% Public sector access: 52%
Market &
Public sector:
20.4%
Space Science access:20%
Market &
Public sector &
Space science: 8.5
%
Space science
only: 2.6%
Market &
Space science
only: 5.6%
Public sector &
Space science
only:3.2%
Market only:
40.1%
Public sector only:
19.5%
Overview of spectrum* access
*weighted spectrum between 87.5MHz and 86Ghz
• Around 58% shared
• While 42% for single access/use category (approx. 20% market access / 20% public sector /
3% space science)
Space science
exclusive: 2.6%
Market
exclusive:
19.5%
Public sector
exclusive:
19.5%
Market access: 75% Public sector access: 52%
Space Science access:20%

5. Scarce clear spectrum and sharing already working well
4
• We have categorised the spectrum accessed for market uses:
• Ofcom standard licence products - Ofcom Managed (OM): 50%
• Licences assigned for large blocks of spectrum - Block assigned (BA):12%
• Licence exemption regulations – licence exempt (LE): 20%
• and 2% of the spectrum being currently un –assigned – all above 45GHz
• 26 % of market use spectrum shared using two or more authorisation methods representing 20% of total weighted spectrum
• Sharing between uses and authorisation methods already delivering significant benefits
Note:
1 This view considers sharing within market uses
and so does not consider the sharing of OM, LE
and BA with public sector and space science.
2 Unassigned spectrum includes bands where use
has not yet been authorised, these are: 66-71
GHz, 47.2 to 47.9GHz and 45.5 to 47GHz, which
are all extension bands for satellite use but where
there is no current actual use
75% of weighted spectrum for market access
Ofcom Managed
50%
Licence exempt: 28%
Block assigned : 12%
OM minus
LE minus BA
31%
Block
Assigned
minus OM:
11%
OM and BA
only: 1%
OM and LE
only:18%
LE minus OM
10.3%
Unassigned
spectrum : 2%

6. Current methods of authorisation
5
• Licensed access by different dimensions:
• In frequency – with individual licences each with a specific frequency range
or with concurrent access for several licensees to the same range of
frequencies
• In geography – with licences covering the whole of the UK, or specific
geographical areas, or defining the location of transmitting equipment
• In time – some licences are indefinite in duration and others have a fixed
duration
• In technical conditions – to manage risk of harmful interference between
uses and users through pre-defined limits and/or self-coordination
• Licence exemption: default position where use of the spectrum is not likely to
cause undue interference. Will need to comply with specific technical
requirements and may be constrained by any/all of the above dimensions.

7. 6
• Why spectrum sharing?
• Issues to be considered
• Dynamic spectrum sharing – TV White Space
• Next Steps

8. Why worry about spectrum sharing
• Growing competing demand for spectrum from all sectors
• Becoming more and more difficult to find/create clear spectrum
• Limited opportunities to clear and release the spectrum for new uses
• So new uses might need to share
7

9. Issues for more sharing and new ways of sharing
8
• Options for concurrent access to spectrum for several licensees
• Eg 1781/1880 MHz “DECT guard band” spectrum with all having
same rights
• Options for licensed/authorised shared access – different users get
different rights with different priority levels
• See White Space pilot approach
• Tools for managing shared/pooled spectrum : databases, sensing, market
mechanisms etc
• Identify conditions of access that would support the successful operation
of each service
• Establish clear rules for the relative rights between existing users and new
users
• Establish rules for the relative rights amongst new users
We are keen to understand whether new technologies
and new spectrum access models might facilitate such
access.

10. 9
Understanding business needs
• Sharing requires coexistence along a number of dimensions
– Frequency
– Location (fixed or dynamic)
– Time (both short and long term)
– Power level
• Conditions of access need to support successful planning of commercial activities over
their specific timescales
• How can we best understand/Take into account business needs of different and new
uses, e.g. 5G, but also existing uses?

11. 10
• Why spectrum sharing?
• Issues to be considered
• Dynamic spectrum sharing – TV White Space
• Next Steps

12. 11
Database managed dynamic spectrum access
• Consultation published last year, hoping to publish a Statement in the next few weeks
setting out our decision on how to take this forward.
• Intention is: licence exempt access for equipment that meets technical standards and
that only transmits at any given time within parameters (frequency and power) specific
to its location and technical characteristics provided by an authorised database
• Database has all the information about existing users and all the coexistence
requirements. Information can be changed realtime if required.
• Relies on knowledge of location of white space devices. The more the devices can tell
the databases about where they are and what they are the more likely they are to have
frequency options.
TV White Space project

13. TV White Space project – wider lessons for sharing
• First opportunity to test dynamic allocation by database – lots to learn from it
• Opportunistic access to spectrum – probably suited to limited range of uses,
opportunity for innovation
• No ability to prioritise between white space traffic – will this be an issue
• Protection only goes one way – how can users get the most out of the
available spectrum (e.g. sensing)?
12

14. 13
• Why spectrum sharing?
• Issues to be considered
• Dynamic spectrum sharing – TV White Space
• Next Steps

15. 14
Next steps
• We are looking at all these issues around sharing
• Interested in output from cluster 2 work – in particular, we are interested in any
information you can give us on the business needs that sharing should seek to
address
• Planning to publish a consultation later this year on potential sharing models,
and potential new spectrum sharing opportunities more generally and their
associated spectrum management implications