The Battle for C-band

摘要

There is a raging debate in the international and regional spectrum regulatory community on the issue of sharing fixed satellite service C-band downlink spectrum rights with the International Mobile Telecommunication (IMT)-Advanced service. The spectrum is currently being utilized by satellite operators primarily for telecom and TV broadcasting services, whereas the mobile industry wants to access and use the same band for the IMT-Advanced service. IMT-Advanced is a term coined by the International Telecommunications Union (ITU) to define a terrestrial, Internet Protocol-based broadband service for smartphones and other mobile devices. Questions raised on the hotly debated issue include: Should C-band be shared? Would it cannibalize current spectrum allocation? What are the criteria for C-band sharing and how would it impact users, operators and regulators?