Shared spectrum is a building block for new network innovations that will help pave the way to full 5G deployments. The 5G system operates best when given large amounts of spectrum. While sole access to spectrum will continue to be a mainstay of major public networks, the ability to take advantage of additional spectrum that is shared with others will provide expansion capacities that may be extremely important to providing subscribers with the speeds and capacities they expect of 5G.
The ability to share spectrum is also being focused on to support the entrance of new operators that may deploy a network in a single facility, such as a mall, refinery or factory. Experience being gathered now in the use of shared spectrum for 4G LTE is expected to provide the foundation for the sharing of spectrum for 5G systems.As requirements related to 5G services emerge from the U.S. FCC and other regulatory bodies, the industry should provide the necessary resources to identify standards gaps and develop standards solutions.
This white paper examines two important aspects of 5G network deployment and use: regulations and shared spectrum. This paper addresses all 5G radio interface technologies, including 3GPP NR.