Facilitating Mobile Broadband Development in Hong Kong

Spectrum Futures 2014

30 October 2014

Chaucer Leung

Assistant Director (Regulatory Affairs) Office of the Communications Authority

Hong Kong

1. Update of Mobile Telecommunications Market

in Hong Kong

2

Growth of Mobile Service Subscription

No. of mobile operators: 4

No. of MVNOs: 21

Total no. of mobile subscribers: 17.1 million (penetration at 236%)

No. of 2.5G/3G/4G subscribers: 12.7 million (penetration at 175%)

No. of 3G/4G subscribers: 12.6 million (penetration at 174%)

0

2,000

4,000

6,000

8,000

10,000

12,000

14,000

16,000

18,000

Nu

mb

er o

f M

ob

ile S

ub

scri

ber

s (i

n t

ho

usa

nd

s)

Number of Mobile Subscribers

Total No. of Mobile Subscribers

Total No. of 2.5G / 3G / 4G Subscribers

As in July each year

17.1 M

12.7 M

3

0

200

400

600

800

1,000

1,200

1,400

0

2,000

4,000

6,000

8,000

10,000

12,000

14,000

16,000

Mo

nth

ly A

vera

geM

ob

ile D

ata

Usa

ge p

er

Dat

a Su

bsr

ibe

r (M

B)

Mo

nth

ly M

ob

ile D

ata

Usa

gein

Ho

ng

Ko

ng

(TB

)

Mobile Data Usage

Monthly Mobile Data Usage e in Hong Kong (TB)

Monthly Average Mobile Data Usage per Data Subscriber (MB)

As in July each year

Growth of Mobile Data Usage Monthly mobile data usage

growth - Last 12 months : +38% (1.38x)

Last 2 years : +137% (2.37x)

Last 3 years : +363% (4.63x)

Monthly mobile data usage per 2.5G/3G/4G subscriber in July each year - 2013 : 946 MB

2014 : 1,161 MB

Representing a rapid growth of mobile data traffic

10,629 TB

14,716 TB

6,204 TB

384 TB

4

3,175 TB

1,237 TB

1,161 MB

946 MB

79 206 863 4,337 14,831

35,137 71,311

121,241

170,006 *

0

50000

100000

150000

200000

250000

300000

350000

400000

2004 2006 2008 2010 2012 2014 2016 2018

Ann

ual T

otal

2.5

G+

3G T

raff

ic C

arri

ed (

in T

Byt

es)

Year

Growth of Annual Mobile Data Traffic (Projected from Figures up to July 2014)

Forecast of Mobile Data Usage

5

~350K in 2016

Around 2 times Growth in Data Usage Between 2014 and 2016

* - The annual total traffic in 2014 is estimated from the actual figures in Jan-Jul

2014 with the figures in the remaining months estimated by linear projection.

2. Supply of Licensed Spectrum

6

0

100

200

300

400

500

600

700

2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014

Tota

l Ban

dw

idth

Re

leas

ed

in M

Hz

Year

Total Amount of Radio Spectrum Released to Hong Kong Market

Radio Spectrum Released to Market

7

2G Era 3G Era 4G Era

Hutchison launched

3G in Jan 2004

CSL launched 4G in

Nov 2010

610 MHz

219 MHz 391 MHz of radio spectrum released between 2000 and 2014

Digital Dividend (1)

TV channels as vacated after analogue TV switching-off (ASO) may be refarmed for telecommunications services or other services – commonly known as “digital dividend” (DD)

Due to the radio propagation characteristics, the UHF band, and hence the DD band, is very suitable for mobile service

DD can help satisfy the demand for more radio spectrum for the ever-growing mobile broadband usage

8

Mobile Services

Guard Band

45 MHz 45 MHz

TV Broadcast Band,

total 224 MHz

Mobile Transmit Base Transmit

Digital Dividend (2)

9

Current ASO working target in Hong Kong by end 2015

ASO target in Mainland China by 2020 Hong Kong Government is revisiting the ASO working target

Other Possible Spectrum for Mobile Services (1) Keep track of industry, regional and international

development Collection of views from local spectrum users : satellite

operators, telecommunication carriers, law enforcement agencies and civil aviation industry, etc.

Liaison with Mainland China

APT Conference Preparatory Group (APG) for WRC-15

World Radiocommunication Conference 2015 (WRC-15)

ITU-R preparatory studies

ITU-R Conference Preparatory Meeting (CPM)

10

Other Possible Spectrum for Mobile Services (2)

Potential candidate bands to be discussed at WRC-15 470-698 MHz, 1350-1400 MHz, 1427-1525 MHz, 1695-1710 MHz, 2700-2900 MHz, 3300-3600 MHz, 3600-4200 MHz, 4400-4500 MHz, 4500-4800 MHz, 4800-4990 MHz, 5350-5470 MHz, 5725-5850 MHz, 5925-6425 MHz

The latest draft CPM Report to WRC-15 No consensus on the proposed candidate of any of these

frequency bands for mobile broadband

11

Spectrum Re-farming Technology neutral principle

Mobile operators may use any widely recognised technology for provision of services with the assigned spectrum

except for a licensee in adopting CDMA2000 technology, which was required in the license condition as stipulated in the auction of spectrum

Mobile operators may freely re-farm part of their spectrum in the 900 MHz and 1800 MHz bands (originally for 2G services) for 3G and 4G services

12

2G 3G 4G

59 MHz 193 MHz (with 39.6 MHz from the 850/900

MHz band)

320 MHz (with 120 MHz from the 1800 MHz

band)

Spectrum Swapping

Frequency swap between two mobile operators for more efficient use of spectrum

A precedent in the 1800 MHz band Reducing adjacent channel interference

Increasing spectral efficiency and network capacity

13

SmarTone CMHK CMHK SmarToneOther MNOsCMHKOther MNOs

SmarTone SmarTone CMHK CMHK CMHK CMHKOther MNOsOther MNOs

Existing

Frequency

Assignment

Frequency

Assignment

After the Swap

Spectrum Re-assignment (1)

14

Paired Spectrum in the 1.9 – 2.2 GHz Band (3G Spectrum) 120 MHz of 3G Spectrum assigned though auction to four mobile operators

in 2001 for a term of 15 years

Existing assignments will expire in October 2016

Guiding Principles in Spectrum Management Use of a market-based approach when there are competing demands for the

spectrum unless there are overriding public policy reasons to do otherwise No legitimate expectation for any right of renewal or right of first refusal of

any spectrum assignment upon expiry 3 years advance notice to be given for spectrum re-assignment

Due process from March 2012 to October 2013 Two rounds of public consultation A consultancy study commissioned to study the impact on service quality and

customers stemming from spectrum re-assignment

Spectrum Re-assignment (2)

Objectives in the Re-assignment of the 3G Spectrum

Market-based Approach

Administratively-assigned Approach

Hybrid Approach

Ensuring customer service continuity

Promoting efficient spectrum utilisation

Promoting effective competition

Encouraging investment & innovative services

Decision of the CA in November 2013 Adopt the hybrid administratively-assigned-cum-market-based

approach to re-assign the 3G Spectrum

15

Spectrum Re-assignment (3) The Band Plan (taking into account a merger in May 2014)

All the incumbent 3G operators have accepted the offer of right of first

refusal for the re-assignment of the 3G spectrum totalled 70 MHz

3G spectrum totalled 50 MHz will be re-assigned through an open

auction to be conducted in December 2014

59.4 MHz

Existing Assignees

14.8 MHz 14.8 MHz 14.8 MHz 14.8 MHz

S1

S2

S3

S4

S5

S6

S7

S8

S9

S10

S11

S12

Lower Sub-band 1920.3 MHz 1949.9 MHz 1950.1 MHz 1979.7 MHz

Upper Sub-band 2110.3 MHz 2139.9 MHz 2140.1 MHz 2169.7 MHz

1935.1 MHz 1964.9 MHz

2154.9 MHz

SmarTone Hutchison

2125.1 MHz

Merged Entity (HKT/CSL)

16

3. Offload to Unlicensed Spectrum

17

Wi-Fi in Hong Kong (1)

Public Wi-Fi service provided by private sector:

5 carriers and 38 class licensees

> 28,000 Wi-Fi access points

Public Wi-Fi service provided by the Government (GovWiFi)

Over 2,700 Wi-Fi access points provided by GovWiFi at around 470 government premises

18

Wi-Fi in Hong Kong (2)

“Wi-Fi.HK”:

Launched in August 2014

A concerted effort to promote a common brand and SSID “Wi-Fi.HK”

for the public Wi-Fi services offered by the public and private sectors

Completely free or free for a certain period of time

Participating organisations:

19

Wi-Fi in Hong Kong (3) After download of a free apps, mobile data customers can

automatically switchover from mobile data networks to Wi-Fi hotspots provided by their mobile operators

20

TV White Space (TVWS) in Hong Kong (1)

TV Channel Utilization

All 42 TV channels (8 MHz bandwidth per channel) in the 470 – 806 MHz band are assigned for terrestrial TV broadcasting or mobile TV services

Mainland China is also sharing the same TV band for terrestrial TV broadcasting

TV signals from Guangdong transmitting stations may spill over into Hong Kong and vice versa Frequency coordination with the Mainland authority will be

needed for the use of TVWS in HK to avoid mutual radio interference

21

22 •22 •22 •22 •22

TVWS in Hong Kong (2)

22

: TV stations with high transmission power (e.g. 100 kW or above)

TVWS in Hong Kong (3)

OFCA has carried out a computer simulation to estimate the potential availability of TVWS in outdoor areas of Hong Kong

Only a small number of TV channels in 470 – 806 MHz band may be available for TVWS in certain outdoor areas of Hong Kong (mainly in the New Territories and outlying islands)

TVWS may be used for indoor low power applications, e.g. in shopping malls and underground MTR stations

OFCA will keep in view the development of TVWS and the availability of equipment in the mass market

23

4. Other Regulatory Measures

24

Encouraging Coverage in Remote Areas (1)

Assigning additional radio spectrum to operators for use in country parks and remote areas without any spectrum utilization fee

Allowing operators to use microwave stations to connect their radio base stations in country parks and remote areas

Subletting Government land for free

Allowing operators to use existing Government buildings and hilltop sites

25

26

1 Kowloon Hill

2 Ma On Shan

3 Shing Mun

4 Kei Ling Ha

5 Bride's Pool Road

6 Golden Hill

7 Yuen Ng Fan

8 Woodside

9 Tsuen Kam Au

10 Shek Uk Shan

11 Robin's Nest

12 Cloudy Hill

13 Long Ke

14 Nga Ying Shan

15 Tai Lam Chung

16 Chung Pui

17 Tai Long Au

18 Shek Pik

19 Tiu Tang Lung

20 Tai Fung Au

21 Tai Tong

22 Man Cheung Po

23 Ap Chau

24 Pak Kung Au

25 Nam Shan

26 Sai Wan Shan

27 Pak Tam Au

Encouraging Coverage in Remote Areas (2)

Mobile stations

installed at

country parks

26

Facilitating Development of Small Cells (1) Over 35,000 mobile base stations as in September 2014, including

both macro and non-macro cells

Non-macro cells are mainly deployed in indoor areas with lower ERP

About 15% of the base stations with ERP <= 1 W

About 35% of the base stations with ERP <= 10 W

Note: ERP=Effective radiated power 27

28

Facilitating Development of Small Cells (2)

Payphone Kiosks

Bus Stop Shelters

28

Lamp Posts

Possible Locations for Small Cells

Retail Shops on the Street

Facilitating Development of Small Cells (3)

Wireless backhaul is needed to connect small cells to the core network, Internet and other services

It is under planning that the 80 GHz band be allocated to the fixed service so as to allow mobile operators to deploy high capacity fixed links in their backhaul networks

29

80 GHz fixed link • Channel bandwidth : 250 MHz • Data rate : ~ 1.2 Gb/s

UNPLANNED RADIOLOCATION,

AMATEUR, AMATEUR-SATELLITE, etc.

UNPLANNED

71 76 81 86 GHz

Thank You