Beruflich Dokumente
Kultur Dokumente
5 Conclusions ........................................................................................................ 37
Abbreviations Table List ........................................................................................... 39
Annex 1 - APT700 Adoption Status ............................................................................ 41
Document Control Sheet ........................................................................................... 47
APT700 LTE whitepaper (Q4-2016)
Executive Summary
Spectrum is viewed as a key asset for the development of mobile broadband (MBB) and Cellular
Internet of Things (C-IoT). Both high and low frequency bands play a key role for boosting the
adoption of LTE (Long Term Evolution) across the world. In 2012 3GPP has successfully included
APT700 band – corresponding to TV channels from 52 to 69 – (3GPP R11 band 28 for FDD mode
and 3GPP R11 band 44 for TDD mode) into the list of LTE frequencies as per APT (Asia-Pacific
Telecommunity, a cross-governments organization among APAC countries to deal with spectrum
policies) and ITU official agreements in 2010/11.
The following world map summarizes the decision to use APT700MHz and US700.
Low band APT700MHz LTE deployment is highly recommended to deliver broadband experience
in rural areas and provide exceptional good wall penetration for a powerful indoor coverage.
Indeed APT700MHz is classified as a low band (spectrum below 1GHz). It offers broad coverage,
compared to high bands such as 1800MHz and 2600MHz, allowing a significant CAPEX reduction.
In addition APT700 brings additional capacity within the low bands category and makes it a golden
Issue 2.0 (2016-12-13) Huawei Proprietary and Confidential Page 3 of 47
APT700 LTE whitepaper (Q4-2016)
spectrum. Finally in city area APT700 has a very good wall penetration to provide consistent indoor
coverage to greatly benefit the end-users experience.
APT700MHz is already gaining momentum for LTE services, and large scale deployments have
started since 2014. Currently there are 26 commercial LTE networks using band 28 across 14
countries. Large countries such as Australia, Brazil, Japan and Philippines have already
successfully kicked-off LTE services in using band 28. In addition more than 10 LTE operators
have implemented inter-bands carrier aggregation in using band 28.
In 2013, Huawei was among the first vendors to conduct APT700MHz field trials with operators to
show the band’s excellent characteristics for indoor coverage and rural coverage. As of today
Huawei commercial LTE RAN equipment kit is fully deployed in 11 LTE projects in using band 28.
Several hundreds of commercial LTE devices support band 28 across all types of form factors. It
provides a strong commitment to LTE operators for being confident to rollout APT700 band.
This document mainly addresses the FDD mode of APT700 (3GPP band 28). Industry support for
the APT700 FDD band plan is already strong. Indeed whereas APT700 provides both FDD and
TDD arrangements; it is the FDD mode that has gained global support from wireless industry
players and regulators in Asia, South America and recently Europe & Middle East markets. All
together it represents a market size exceeding 4 billion people! The FDD configuration is
standardised in 3GPP R11 (band 28) based on 2 x 45MHz arrangement, with 10MHz guard band
between downlink and uplink. APT700 FDD band plan is exactly defined as 703-748MHz for the
uplink, 10MHz guard band and 758-803MHz for the downlink. Sometimes APT700 FDD mode is
referred as APT700 lower duplexer and APT700 upper duplexer (see the following figure).
Especially it is important to notice that both Asia and South America use the whole APT700 band
(2x45MHz) whereas Europe & Middle East Africa region considers APT700 lower duplexer only in
order to match previous DD800 allocation.
Fig2: APT700 FDD Mode, 3GPP band 28 (Source: APT official material “APT/AWF/REP-14” about
“HARMONISED FREQUENCY ARRANGEMENTS FOR THE BAND 698-806MHZ”)
Fig3: APT700 TDD Mode, 3GPP band 44 (Source: APT official material “APT/AWF/REP-14” about
“HARMONISED FREQUENCY ARRANGEMENTS FOR THE BAND 698-806MHZ”)
Recently 3GPP has approved “an extension” to band 28 which is band 68 (698-728MHz /
753-783MHz). It is part of 3GPP R13. It is a swift of 5MHz from APT700 lower duplexer and it is
mainly relevant for Region 1.
The following table summarizes the major standardization documents addressing APT700.
FDD mode
ITU ITU-R Recommendation M.1036-4 [03-2012] TDD mode
In 3GPP R12, R13 and on-going R14 there are already several carrier aggregation (CA) scenarios
being approved. However depending on countries regulations for the allocation of LTE spectrum
Issue 2.0 (2016-12-13) Huawei Proprietary and Confidential Page 5 of 47
APT700 LTE whitepaper (Q4-2016)
(APT700 and other bands) as well as operators spectrum strategy, 3GPP will have to extend the
number of LTE-Advanced inter-band carrier aggregation scenarios in using band 28. 3GPP TS
36.104 lists all carrier aggregation scenarios being approved for each 3GPP release.
The list of LTE-Advanced carrier aggregation scenarios already approved by 3GPP and involving
band 28 is given into the following table (06-2016 status).
More than 10 LTE operators already use LTE-Advanced carrier aggregation with band 28 in
commercial networks. It allows them to provide higher download speeds to their mobile
subscribers which greatly influence the users’ experience for data services.
49 countries and territories allocated, committed to, or recommend APT700 FDD (band 28) for LTE
system deployments (GSA Report titled “4G MARKET and TECHNOLOGY UPDATE”,
28-07-2016):
LAC region: Argentina, Brazil, Chile, Colombia, Costa Rica, Curaçao, Dominican Republic,
Ecuador, Honduras ,Mexico, Panama, Peru, Suriname, Venezuela. Some of these countries have
already completed the Digital Switch-Over or are in the process for doing it such as Brazil which is
currently implementing the digital switch-over to free APT700 as follows:
Early pilot deadline set in 11-2015 to free APT700 band for mobile operators in Rio Verde
Followed by 5 major cities in 2016 – Brasilia (04-2016), Sao Paolo (05-2016), Belo
Horizonte (06-2016), Goiania (08-2016) and Rio de Janeiro (11-2016)
During 2017 a further 15 cities/regions are scheduled to switch off analogue services
between 06-2017 and 11-2017 that year,
And in 2018 – between 07-2018 and 11-2018 – another 16 named cities plus all other
regions make the switchover according to the ministry’s schedule, with the final analogue
shutdown scheduled for 25-11-2018
Japan operators deploy APT700 Upper Duplexer for LTE services since 2015. Note that in Japan
there are DTV systems up to 710MHz and therefore the complete APT700 band cannot be
allocated to mobile operators at the time being.
Australia and New Zealand operators have started to use APT700 since 2014 and have gradually
expanded it across both countries.
Issue 2.0 (2016-12-13) Huawei Proprietary and Confidential Page 7 of 47
APT700 LTE whitepaper (Q4-2016)
Telecom Spark New Zealand has been one of the first operators to begin a LTE pre-commercial
rollout in using APT700 spectrum in June 2014, alongside partner Huawei Technologies. And this
non-commercial trial, involving selected customers, provided valuable first-hand experience to
qualify the future network building. Then Telecom Spark (formerly Telecom New Zealand)
launched a wireless broadband service for people in rural areas of the country using 700MHz for its
4G LTE services since October 2014. The new service marketed as a fixed broadband alternative
for home and business use rather than a true mobile product, and the Spark says it provided
speeds up to 10 times faster than those available via the government-backed Rural Broadband
Initiative (RBI) which uses 3G technology to reach outlying areas.
Currently a wide range of LTE terminals (smartphone, routers, tablets) supporting APT700 band is
available is New Zealand.
Globe Telecom Philippines accelerated the deployment of LTE radio sites using the 700 MHz band
in July 2016, and it targets several hundreds of LTE 700 MHz cell sites by the end of 2016.
According to Globe, the LTE 700 MHz cell sites cover major business districts and
highly-urbanized and populated areas in the country, as subscribers using LTE-powered devices
are steadily increasing in these areas.
MEA: UAE confirmed the adoption of the APT700 Lower Duplexer (2 x 30MHz).
In Middle East region in 05-2013 UAE TRA has released a white paper titled “Channel Planning &
Availability for Mobile Broadband in the UAE” in favor of the adoption of both DD800MHz band and
Lower APT700 Duplexer band in Africa, Europe and Middle East countries. As per UAE TRA’s
white paper the following 2 key information have been highlighted:
1. “Many Arab countries showed support for the UAE 700MHz channel plan during the
March 2013 Arab Spectrum Management Group Meeting held in Dubai” (e.g. use of both
DD800MHz band and Lower APT700 Duplexer band)
2. The Lower APT700 Duplexer band (703-733MHz / 758-788MHz) to free for the use of
mobile communications in UAE by the end of 2013
APT700 Lower Duplexer is also the preferred frequency arrangement for 700 MHz allocations in
Europe and throughout ITU Region 1 in Africa.
Europe: Notwithstanding the EU Council position (see below), several actions are underway or
planned in Austria, Finland, Iceland, Slovenia, Sweden and UK to free the Lower APT700 Duplexer
for mobile communications. France and Germany have already auctioned APT700 Band 28.
The number of commitments in Europe should be even much higher. On May 26, 2016 the EU
Council adopted a general approach on a draft decision aimed at boosting broadband services.
The 700 MHz band would be made available for wireless broadband in Europe by 2020. According
to the Council position, EU countries must reassign the 700 MHz band (694-790MHz) to wireless
broadband services under harmonised technical conditions by 30 June 2020. If they are unable to
do this they may decide, for duly justified reasons, to delay the availability of the band by up to two
years. Member states must adopt a 'national roadmap' by 30 June 2018, setting out how they will
implement the decision. These roadmaps are to be made public.
Also, a large border coordination agreement between Belgium, France, Germany, Ireland,
Luxembourg, the Netherlands, the United Kingdom, to manage the TV carriers in the 700MHz
band has been approved. Thus, all these countries will be able to speed up the 700MHz
deployment e.g. in some regions in France, the deployment has already started.
Note that APT700 Lower Duplexer is fully consistent with 3GPP band 20 (DD800) which is
currently used in some Africa countries, several European and Middle East countries. It brings
significant benefits to mobile operators in region 1:
Expectation to get a large devices eco-system using APT700 due to the huge market size
in terms of population and number of operators
Easy international roaming
Less cross-border interference
APT700 global adoption is steadily gaining momentum over the past few years and its
development has been quite fast in recent times. This represents a big opportunity for spectrum
harmonization.
Let’s put it in that way: “APT700 has the potential to become a band as powerful as 900MHz
which provides a huge advantage for mobile operators since more than 20 years”.
Moreover APT700 Upper Duplexer and APT700 Lower Duplexer are fully consistent among each
other. Therefore in medium term APT700 FDD mode can be viewed as a global band which can be
favour the international roaming for LTE services among all regions (except very few countries in
America).
and Vanuatu.
Fig4: World Map Adoption for APT700 Band by LTE Operators (Status @08-2016)
There are currently 26 operators in 15 countries which have successfully deployed LTE in using
APT700 band 28 (see world map above). These countries have already defined and implemented
a Digital TV Switch-Over time-schedule roadmap. The following table provides some examples of
such a DSO migration which have been coordinated by local TRAs.
hover-schedule-finalised/
Japan: In June 2012 Japan MIC has successfully allocated APT-700MHz (FDD mode) to
NTT Docomo, eAccess and KDDI. Each of them has won a bandwidth of 10MHz for this
band. These 3 Japanese operators have already started to use APT700 for commercial
services since 2015.
Australia: In May 2013 Australia local regulator ACMA has carried out APT700 spectrum
auction (band 28). Both Optus and Telstra have successfully secured a block of APT700.
Telstra have been granted a block of 20MHz and Optus has received a block of 10MHz.
Commercial LTE services using APT700 are offered since 2014 in Australia.
Taiwan (China): In October 2013 Taiwan has awarded APT700 band to Asia Pacific
Telecom (APT), Far EasTone (FET), Taiwan Mobile (TWM) and a Greenfield operator
Ambit (belonging to Foxconn Group). All operators have already commercially deployed
APT700 band for LTE.
New Zealand: In October 2013 New Zealand Ministry has allocated APT700 (band 28) to
2Degrees, Telecom Zealand and Vodafone New Zealand. LTE services using APT700 are
offered by New Zealand operators since 2014.
Chile: In October 2013 Chilean Government has launched APT700 spectrum auction.
Two Chilean operators have already deployed LTE services using APT700 band since
mid-2016.
Papua New Guinea (official support of APT700, Comisión Interamericana de
Telecomunicaciones Inter-American Telecommunication Commission on 07-04-2013);
allocation of APT700 to local operators in 2014.
Argentina: In 2015 Argentina has allocated 3 blocks of APT700 to local operators (Claro
Argentina 15MHz block, Movistar Argentina 10MHz block and Personal Argentina 10MHz
block).
Nigeria: In 2015 Nigeria Government has allocated APT700 spectrum to local mobile
operators. Two operators have been granted a block of 10MHz each.
Germany: On 06-2015 German Bundesnetzagentur regulator allocation of 3 blocks of
10MHz each to Telefonica Germany, T-Mobile Germany and Vodafone Germany.
France: During H2-2015 French ARCEP (local regulator) allocation of APT700 lower
duplexer to 4 operators in Q4-2015 including Bouygues Telecom (5MHz), Free Mobile
(10MHz), Orange France (10MHz) and SFR (5MHz).
Peru: In April 2016 Peru government has launched APT700 spectrum auction. Claro Peru,
Entel Peru, Movistar Peru have been granted a block of 15MHz each. In summer 2016
some of them have already upgraded their LTE network to support APT700.
Egypt: In 2016 Egypt Government has allocated a block of 10MHz on APT700 spectrum
to a local operator.
Philippines: In June 2016 Philippine Smart and Globe have bought the telecom assets of
Philippine SMC including a block of 35MHz. Each of them own a block of 17.5MHz and
they have already upgraded hundreds of radio sites using APT700 band.
In addition following countries are committed to allocate APT700 in APAC, Central America &
LATAM, Europe and Middle East regions:
National Spectrum Agency adoption of APT700 FDD mode; APT700 trial in 2013);
possibility for APT700 allocation in 2017
Costa Rica (SUTEL’s decision for APT700 adoption -- FDD mode – on 04-2012,
Comisión Interamericana de Telecomunicaciones Inter-American Telecommunication
Commission on 07-04-2013)
Ecuador (CONATEL’s decision for using APT700; consultation in 2013)
India (Telecom Regulatory Authority of India publication of a document titled
“Recommendations on “IMT-Advanced Mobile Wireless Broadband Services,” the
adoption of the APT FDD option for the 698-806MHz” on 03-2013; APT700 consultation in
2013); APT700 allocation took place early 10-2016 however due to the very high reserved
price Indian operators decided to buy other cheaper spectrum bands
Indonesia (support of APT700; Yankee Group’s report about APT700 band plan
21-06-2013)
Iran (commitment to APT700 adoption, South Asia Telecom Regulatory Council – SATRC
– meeting on 16-05-2013)
Malaysia (support of APT700; Yankee Group’s report about APT700 band plan
21-06-2013)
Maldives Island (commitment to APT700 adoption, South Asia Telecom Regulatory
Council – SATRC – meeting on 16-05-2013)
Mexico (Mexico telecoms regulator COFETEL's public endorsement of the APT's
700MHz band, 10-2012); on-going APT700 allocation (expected official license award by
the end of 2016)
Nepal (commitment to APT700 adoption, South Asia Telecom Regulatory Council –
SATRC – meeting on 16-05-2013)
Panama (National Public Services Authority of Panama Resolution for use of APT700 on
09-2012)
Pakistan (commitment to APT700 adoption, South Asia Telecom Regulatory Council –
SATRC – meeting on 16-05-2013)
Singapore (support of APT700; Yankee Group’s report about APT700 band plan
21-06-2013)
South Korea (official support of APT700 for allocation of 20+20MHz, Comisión
Interamericana de Telecomunicaciones Inter-American Telecommunication Commission
on 07-04-2013); tentative of allocation in 2017
Sri Lanka (commitment to APT700 adoption, South Asia Telecom Regulatory Council –
SATRC – meeting on 16-05-2013)
Suriname allocation of 1 APT700 block to Suriname Telesur in 2015 (official LTE services
launch in 01-2016 in using APT700 band)
Issue 2.0 (2016-12-13) Huawei Proprietary and Confidential Page 14 of 47
APT700 LTE whitepaper (Q4-2016)
Huawei RF solution is based on its latest RRU equipment (named as Huawei Blade RRU). Huawei
Blade RRU reduces the base station installation time and saves the eNodeB energy consumption,
based on advanced power amplifier and power supply technology (around 20%-30% lower power
consumption than the industry average). Therefore Huawei is fully ready to support operators
looking to implement LTE using APT700 band.
The eNodeB configuration for adding APT700 is quite straight forward as depicted into the
following table.
Re-use of existing
BBU (Baseband Unit) Huawei BBU39x0
Blade RRU or RFU for
RF Unit APT700
Re-use of legacy There are 2 pre-conditions for
Antenna wideband antenna or re-using legacy antenna:
add a new antenna 1. Assuming MIMO2x2
(depending on legacy configuration there is a
site configuration) need to have 2 available
ports
2. Legacy wideband
antenna needs to support
APT700
Tab5: Huawei APT700 Support for LTE eNodeB (Already Commercially Deployed)
As an end-to-end solution technology leader, Huawei does not only provide network equipment
only. Indeed Huawei will offer commercial LTE terminals supporting APT700 since 2014.
In February 2014 the Global 700M Alliance was founded with the active support of Huawei to
promote the adoption of APT700. With persistent efforts of the Global 700M Alliance, the APT700
frequency band (Band28) is assigned or scheduled for assignment in more than 50 countries and
regions by June 2016.
All the major RAN infrastructure vendors (Huawei, Ericsson, Nokia, Samsung, and ZTE) have
announced support for Band 28; as part of their radio units’ portfolio. All of them have already
announced commercial LTE deployments using APT700 band 28 since 2014.
harmonization of LTE systems. It is obvious that it can pave the way for ensuring the greatest
economies of scale for devices and providing additional capacity for mobile broadband, and last
but not the least for supporting the international roaming.
Hence, the popularity of APT 700MHz band plan has grown and has been accepted by most of
countries in the Asia-Pacific, South America and Central America regions since 2010/2012.
Recently in 2015 countries in region 1 (Africa & Middle East, Europe) have officially decided to
support APT700 Lower Duplexer (see ECC/DEC/ (15)01 & EC Decision (EU) 2016/687 for Europe
/ ITU WRC 2012: mobile allocation and IMT identification).
Chipsets suppliers have released commercial products since 2013 and first commercial terminals
were released in 2014. Today there are ~400 commercial LTE/LTE-Advanced terminals being able
to support APT700 band 28. The main stream chipset manufacturers have supported Band 28
(Huawei Hisilicon, Qualcomm) since 2013 as per the following table.
In addition some operators have already extended their network capabilities in supporting
LTE-Advanced carrier aggregation (CA) in aggregating Band 28 and other 3GPP bands. Several
CA scenarios have already been approved as per the following table. Several commercial devices
are already available to support the rollout of these commercial CA scenarios.
APT700 (b28) & 2600MHz (b7) 3GPP R12 2CCs Claro Brazil, Entel Chile,
FET Taiwan China,
Optus Australia, Telstra
Australia, TIM Brazil
APT700 (b28) & 900MHz (b8) 3GPP R14 2CCs
APT700 (b28) & 800MHz Japan 3GPP R12 2CCs KDDI Japan
(b18)
APT700 (b28) & 800MHz Japan 3GPP R13 2CCs
(b19)
APT700 (b28) & DD800MHz (b20) 3GPP R14 2CCs
APT700 (b28) & 1500MHz Japan 3GPP R14 2CCs
(b21)
APT700 (b28) & 2300MHz (b40) 3GPP R13 2CCs
(FDD/TDD)
APT700 (b28) & 2600Hz (b41) 3GPP R13 2 CCs
(FDD/TDD)
APT700 (b28) & 3500Hz (b42) 3GPP R13 2 CCs
(FDD/TDD)
APT700 (b28) & 2100MHz (b1) & 3GPP R13 3CCs
1800MHz (b3)
APT700 (b28) & 2100MHz (b1) & 3GPP R13 3CCs
2600MHz (b7)
APT700 (b28) & 2100MHz (b1) & 3GPP R12 3CCs KDDI Japan
800MHz Japan (b18)
APT700 (b28) & 2100MHz (b1) & 3GPP R13 3CCs
800MHz Japan (b19)
APT700 (b28) & 1800MHz (b3) & 3GPP R13 3CCs Claro Brazil, FET Taiwan
2600MHz (b7) China, Telstra Australia,
TIM Brazil
APT700 (b28) & 1800MHz (b3) & 3GPP R13 3CCs
2300MHz (b40) (FDD/TDD)
APT700 (b28) & 2100MHz (b1) 3GPP R13 4CCs
1800MHz (b3) & 2600MHz (b7)
Tab7: LTE-Advanced CA Scenarios & Projects Based on APT700 (Status @06-2016)
APT700 has several inherent advantages (vaste market adoption, large choice of LTE terminals,
candidate for worldwide roaming (excluding few countries such as Bolivia, Canada, USA), easy
deployment, very good coverage, powerful wall penetration / indoor coverage) which make this
Issue 2.0 (2016-12-13) Huawei Proprietary and Confidential Page 18 of 47
APT700 LTE whitepaper (Q4-2016)
band highly attractive for mobile operators looking for delivering competitive LTE services.
In addition, in several countries, the regulation is based on the neutrality of the uses of the
spectrum and services. This approach provides to the operator full flexibility to optimise the
timeline to deploy a new technology which improve the services to the end user.
It is obvious that higher frequency bands (>1GHz) have larger propagation loss and low bands
such as APT700 represent a competitive advantage to operators if being used for LTE services
rollout.
Let’s compare APT700 with several other LTE bands. Here one adopts Hata model, which is
divided into Okumura-Hata model and Cost231-Hata model, to calculate the propagation loss.
Okumura-Hata model is suitable for spectrum between 150MHz ~ 1500MHz, while Cost231-Hata
model is used for spectrum above 1500MHz.
The propagation loss among different frequency bands has been calculated and it is shown in
figure Fig5.
Obviously, for each spectrum, the Rx level is decreasing when the distance is increasing.
Meanwhile, the lower band has a better Rx level than other higher bands when they have the same
distance to cover.
So, 700MHz, compared to 800MHz, 900MHz, 1800MHz, 2100MHz, and 2600MHz, has the best
Rx level. Several operators have fully taken into considerations this argument when deploying LTE
in less populated areas.
It is obvious that a single site coverage area using 700MHz band is almost 3 times larger than
2.6GHz and twice than 1.8GHz.So lower frequency bands such as APT700 bring a significant
coverage benefit to operators.
In other words, to cover the same area, the number of LTE sites deployed with 2.6GHz is 3 times
more than the ones being necessary if using 700MHz (assuming the same spectrum bandwidth for
each band).
If operators utilize multiple bands for their LTE network deployment, there is no doubt that 700MHz
represents a competitive choice for nationwide coverage in order to reduce the sites number, save
the network deployment costs and speed up the deployment progress.
Firstly due to its propagation capabilities APT700 can deliver consistent cell edge coverage at any
location for highly sensible VoLTE services. APT700 can fulfil all mandatory coverage
requirements and provide operators with a competitive option to provide the very best VoLTE
experience for their subscribers.
Secondly new services such as NB-IoT will be commercially launched in coming months
(estimation of 20+ commercial NB-IoT networks by 2017 as per GSA report on 06-2016). The use
of low bands (<1GHz) should be a primary goal for operators when offering NB-IoT solution and
APT700 is an obvious candidate band. Note that the NB-IoT chipset is fully addressing the APT700
option along with other low bands below 1GHz.
Third at the national level APT700 provides a powerful solution to scale LTE services across the
whole country in order to deliver MBB and IoT capabilities at any location. It is obvious that all
countries -- having already reached a near countrywide LTE coverage – take advantage of
frequency bands below 1GHz. APT700 can help to achieve this goal.
Fourth, APT700 is certainly one of the most competitive low bands associating both coverage
performance and relevant capacity. Please refer to the following chart as per today LTE rollouts in
using low bands (<1GHz).
Fifth APT700 is fully capable to be aggregated with other LTE bands in order to support
LTE-Advanced carrier aggregation (CA) throughputs. 3GPPP has already approved several CA
scenarios in using Band 28 and there are commercial references up and running in past 2 years.
Sixth with the progress of global migration of terrestrial TV broadcasting from analogue to digital,
the popularity of the APT 700MHz band plan has grown and has been accepted by many countries
in the Asia-Pacific, South America and the Middle-East regions and even recently in Europe and
Africa. As a result, the global adoption of APT700 band can easily support the international
roaming for LTE devices allowing end-users to connect their preferred MBB network all around the
world.
Source:
http://www.gsma.com/spectrum/wp-content/uploads/2015/06/GSMA-Data-Demand-Explained-June-2015.pdf
Fig8. Annual Mobile Data Traffics Growth in 2010 – 2018 Period (in Exabytes)
Undoubtedly, only LTE can meet this dramatic increasing data demands. According to GSA,
currently 521 LTE networks are commercially launched globally, and this number will rise to 560 by
the end of 2016.
There were 1.45 billion LTE subscriptions by 2016Q2.In addition 6,504 LTE commercial devices
were available in October 2016 (GSA Report “Status of LTE Eco-system”, 10-10-2016). It includes
all frequency bands and carriers bandwidth variants, powered by around 502 terminals suppliers,
as per GSA’s statistics. Among that total number of LTE terminals ~500 of them support APT700
Band 28.
With large countries such as Australia, Brazil, Japan or Mexico and now Europe working on
APT700 band for commercial LTE services it is expected that the number of LTE terminals
supporting APT700 will greatly increase in coming months. This should be even boosted with new
allocations of APT700 band 28 in several countries in 2017.
APT700 and TV broadcasting services (below 694MHz): In 2011 APT has already
published a report to address possible solutions to avoid such interferences. For more
details please refer to the following APT document (APT/AWF/REP-24, [09-2011]):
http://www.apt.int/sites/default/files/Upload-files/AWG/APT-AWG-REP-24_APT_Report_6
98-806_Band_Implementation_UHF.pdf and ECC/DEC/(15)01 & EC Decision (EU)
2016/687
APT700 and other 3GPP systems working on E-850MHz band: Normally there is a
guard band of (at least) 4MHz (803-807MHz).
Lower Duplexer APT700 and DD800MHz (band 20): Normally there is a guard band of
3MHz (788-791MHz).
APT700 and public safety systems: There are on-going studies to assign radio
spectrum for public safety services next to APT700 band 28 and band 68. Therefore it is
necessary to address possible solutions for removing interference with commercial
APT700 networks when defining these options for public safety systems (on-going works).
APT700 and US700: There will be few cases where 2 neighboring countries will use
different 700MHz bands (e.g. Mexico and USA, Bolivia and its neighboring LATAM
countries). An early study conducted by Mexico Cofetel (published in 09-2012) has
analyzed possible solutions to avoid interferences at the border between Mexico and USA
when using different 700MHz plans. Please refer to the following link for more details:
http://www.cft.gob.mx:8080/portal/wp-content/uploads/2012/10/06-ANEXO-Convivencia-f
rontera1.pdf
Since the spectrums used for DTV, iDEN, DD800 and 850MHz is adjacent to APT700 frequency
bands, when operators plan to deploy LTE @APT700, the interference issue must be carefully
taken into consideration and handled properly.
There are 6 interference scenarios to be analyzed. For each scenario, the main interferences
including spurious interference and blocking interference are analyzed.
APT700 and US700 bands interference: e.g. USA and Mexico, Bolivia and its neighboring
countries (Region 2)
APT700 and DD800: e.g. countries in Region 1
The 3GPP standard is already complied to all requests to protect broadcasting services from APT,
Middle East, American and Europe countries. Thus, the same 3GPP terminal could be used over
all countries which are adopted the band 28.
The D-TV transmitters could interfere with the LTE FDD base station receivers, particularly given
the very high power that D-TV transmitters can emit.
Here one considers the worst case which is DTV channel neighboring to APT700 uplink to analyze
the interference as the following figure shows.
Main assumptions being considered are as follows (some of them from Japan interference study
between APT700 and DTV):
Two scenarios are taken into consideration based on the distance between DTV transmitter and
APT700 eNodeB: co-existence and co-site. When co-existence, 2 sub-cases are proposed, one is
DTV transmitter with 100 meters antenna height setup, and the other one is with 20 meters
antenna height setup. The minimum path losses between DTV TX port and LTE BTS RX port being
considered in those 2 scenarios are listed in the following table.
1) Spurious Interference
According to background noise calculation (assume NF=2dB), the accepted spurious interference
of APT700 BTS Rx by DTV Tx is -118dBm/MHz when its noise rises 1dB.
Accepted
Additional
Spurious Spurious
Path Loss isolation
Cases Emission Interference by
(dB) Required
(dBm/MHz) DTV DL
(dB)
(dBm/MHz)
Co-exist: height of TV 7.3 -118 73
52.3
antenna 100m, 3kW
Co-exist: height of TV 7.3 -118 47 (higher
78.3
antenna 20m, 3kW interference)
Co-site, 3kW 7.3 -118 90 35.3
Tab10: APT700 & DTV Interference Scenarios (Scenarios from Japan interference Study)
Obviously, in order to assure APT700 uplink sensitivity, additional filter needs to be installed in the
DTV side. Note that some parameters used for this analysis might not be the same as the real
situation. For instance, the spurious emission level of DTV transmitter might be better than -50dBc,
so the additional isolation being required could be less.
2) Blocking Interference
According to Huawei typical APT700 RF module test results, the accepted blocking interference by
DTV DL is 0dBm / 5MHz.
DTV Additional
Accepted Blocking Path
transmit Isolation
Scenarios Interference Loss
Power Required
by DTV DL (dB)
(dB) (dB)
DTV & eNodeB co-exist: 64.8 0 73 -8.2
height of TV antenna:
100m,3KW
DTV & eNodeB co-exist: 64.8 0 47 17.8
height of TV antenna:
20m,3KW
DTV & eNodeB co-site, 3KW 64.8 0 90 -25.2
Tab11: APT700 & DTV Interference (Scenarios from Japan interference Study)
Form the table above, when DTV transmitter tower co-exists with APT700 BTS, and the height of
DTV transmitter tower is 20 meters, in this case, additional 17.8dB isolation is required.
The out-band interference to APT700 receiver is decreasing when the spectrum used for DTV is
becoming far away from APT700 band.
Based on the accepted spurious emission and blocking interference of Japan’s DTV receiver, the
spurious emission from the TX port of APT700 base station should not affect DTV receiver, but the
blocking interference by BTS can influence DTV receiver, hence additional filter needs to be
installed in DTV receiver. Whether the filter needs to be installed on the DTV receiver, it depends
on the anti-blocking performance of the DTV receiver.
This analysis refers field tests of interference between LTE APT 700 MHz and Digital TV (DTV)
systems released by ANATEL (Brazilian Telecommunications Agency). The conclusion is as
follows.
In the case of interference caused by terminal uplink into DTV receiver with passive indoor antenna,
test results show that filters can solve interference problems considering a combination of factors,
such as:
a) DTV reception signal close to the threshold at neighboring TV channel or at channel in which
image frequency coincides with LTE frequency
b) LTE device with maximum output power (at LTE cell edge)
c) The distance between the mobile terminal and the receiving antenna may be necessary due to
unwanted emissions from the terminal and/or emissions in the frequency range of LTE terminal.
The relaxation of any of the conditions above reduces the chances of occurrence of such
interference.
In case of DTV receiver with external antenna, it has better DTV reception signal and reduce the
potential interference from LTE uplink.
Scenario 4: DTV Transmitter below 694 MHz -> APT700 LTE Uplink (UE)
This analysis refers field tests of interference between LTE APT700 and Digital TV (DTV) systems
released by ANATEL (Brazilian Telecommunications Agency). The assessment was based on
Issue 2.0 (2016-12-13) Huawei Proprietary and Confidential Page 30 of 47
APT700 LTE whitepaper (Q4-2016)
changes of throughput, modulation and error correction code. There is interference only in case of
high values, which is out of regular practical conditions. In the case of DTV interference towards
LTE device, the mitigation technique is just the separation from interfering source.
Fig12. Need for Interference Mitigation from APT700 Downlink to iDEN Uplink
1) Spurious Interference
Two scenarios are taken into consideration based on the distance between the iDEN site and
APT700 base station: co-existence and co-site.
Issue 2.0 (2016-12-13) Huawei Proprietary and Confidential Page 31 of 47
APT700 LTE whitepaper (Q4-2016)
a) Co-existence
The isolation level between LTE700M TX port and iDEN RX port varies with the distance as the
following table shows when iDEN site co-exists with APT700 base station.
Tab12: Isolation Level between APT700 and iDEN System (Co-existence Scenario)
The output power of APT700 base station is 46dBm (40W), based on Huawei typical APT700 RF
module tests.
According to Tab12, when the distance is more than 200 meters, the path loss can assure the
isolation requirement between iDEN site and APT700 base station.
b) Co-site
When APT700 base station is co-sited with iDEN site, there are 2 types of antenna installation
methods, parallel and serial (vertical) installation. The way they are installed and the
corresponding isolation level being achieved are listed in following tables.
Isolation (dB)
Antenna with
Parallel Installation
Distance (m)
0.5 41
1 44
2 47
3 50
Isolation (dB)
Antenna with
Vertical
Installation
Distance (m)
0.5 58
1 60
2 65
3 68
As it is introduced in the previous section, the isolation requirement is 47dB, so when the iDEN
antenna is installed in parallel with the antenna of APT700 base station, if the distance between
these 2 antennas is more than 2 meters, there is no need for any additional filter.
2) Blocking Interference
The requirement of out-band blocking index of iDEN is -20dBm, and LTE700M output power is
46dBm / 5MHz, so the total isolation requirement is 46-(-20) = 66dB
According to the Tab15, when the distance between APT700 base station and iDEN site is more
than 1500m, no additional filter is required. Otherwise, additional filter with proper isolation level is
needed.
When APT700 base station is co-sited with iDEN radio equipment, and if these 2 antennas are
installed serially with 3 meters distance, then there is no need to setup additional filter. Otherwise
additional filter with proper isolation level is required.
Here E-850MHz is not considered. If there is a need to address E-850MHz then the interference
study should be handled case by case.
1) Spurious Interference
Assumptions:
Note: The isolation between LTE700M TX port and 850M RX port refers to the previous section of
“APT700 Interference Mitigation Analysis with iDEN Systems”.
The accepted spurious emission of 850MHz is -118dBm / MHz when its noise rises 1dB.
Considering the transmit power of APT700 (46dBm / 5MHz), based on Huawei typical APT700 RF
module tests, the spurious level of 850M UL is -91dBm/MHz, as well as 2dB feeder loss, so
eventually, around 25dB spurious emission needs to be handled.
When APT700 site needs to co-exist with 850MHz site with 100 meters distance, the spatial
isolation can achieve 40dB, which already meets the isolation requirement.
When APT700 site is co-sited with 850MHz BTS site, according to antenna isolation table, both
parallel and serial installation of two antennas can assure the interference suppression
requirement.
2) Blocking Interference
For Huawei typical 850MHz RF Unit, the tested accepted blocking interference of 850MHz is
16dBm@803MHz, considering the transmitter power of APT700 (46dBm) and the feeder loss
(2dB), the isolation requirement is 28dB.
Based on above conditions, when APT700 site needs to co-exist with 850MHz site with 100m
distance, the spatial isolation can achieve 40dB, which already meets the isolation requirement.
When APT700 site is co-sited with 850MHz BTS, according to antenna isolation table, both parallel
and serial installation of 2 antennas can assure the interference suppression requirement.
Nevertheless, if one wants to use both frequency bands with the same antenna (the same operator
has both neighboring spectrum blocks), then there are some inter-modulation requirements and
some combinations to mitigate interferences internally within the MNO network. Thus, it is more an
implementation related issue.
Here the suggestion is to analyze case by case for different deployment of spectrum blocks for the
same operator (between APT700 lower duplexer and DD800) and antenna site setup.
Mexico has conducted a study about the interference mitigation between US700 and APT700
bands. It is available via:
http://www.coleago.co.uk/fileadmin/user_upload/Downloads/APT_Band_Plan_Adopted_by_Mexi
co_230912.pdf
5 Conclusions
With the increasing capacity and coverage needs to address the MBB/LTE development, APT700
band is well positioned to enhance the LTE adoption. Since early 2010 under the leadership of the
APT organization and with the combined standardization effort of ITU and 3GPP, APT700 has
become a major spectrum band for LTE services. Key standardization milestones are:
In 2010 APT has officially introduced its 700MHz band plan to ITU and it has been ratified
for Regions 2 and 3 in 2011.
In 2012 3GPP has officially included APT700 (band 28 for FDD mode and band 44 for TDD
mode) into 3GPP R11.
During WRC-12 ITU has allocated for mobile service and has identified for IMT the
694-790MHz band (APT700 Lower Duplexer band 28 + band 68) in Region 1. That means
all regions around the world (with the exception of about 3 America countries) has adopted
APT700 band plan. It represents a market exceeding 4 Billion people.
3GPP has defined 2 options for APT700 introducing FDD mode (Band 28) and TDD mode
(Band 44).
As of today most of countries are committed to support APT700 FDD mode. This document mainly
discusses the APT700 Band 28 which provide a bandwidth of 2x45MHz for countries in Regions 2
and 3 (in Region 1 it is set to 2x30MHz as APT700 Lower Duplexer and band 68 it is 698-728 UP &
753-783MHz DL. The 698-703 & 753-758MHz can be used for specific services PPDR. The
733-736 & 788-791MHz can be used for specific services e.g. PPDR…).
The APT700 band plan allows greater spectrum planning flexibility, giving the possibility to adjust
channel sizes to necessities of particular market and country by allocating blocks ranging from
2x5MHz up to 2x20MHz.
It is important to notice that 14 countries have already allocating APT700 blocks to operators and a
Issue 2.0 (2016-12-13) Huawei Proprietary and Confidential Page 37 of 47
APT700 LTE whitepaper (Q4-2016)
large proportion of these operators (30+%) has been granted a block of 2x15MHz at least.
Currently 26 operators have already enhanced their LTE networks in adding APT700 band. For
example major operators in Australia, Brazil, Chile, France and Japan already use APT700 Band
28 for commercial services. In coming 12 to 18 months it is expected that APT700 will be auctioned
in several additional countries.
LTE700MHz can strengthen indoor city coverage / wall penetration and push MBB
coverage to rural areas in a cost-efficiently manner. A LTE 700MHz base station has at
least 2-3 times better coverage then a base station using LTE1800MHz base station
coverage area, and can greatly optimize the CAPEX/OPEX of mobile operators.
APT700MHz band plan will improve the mass market and the availability of a large chose
of terminals.
Improve the roaming.
Easy deployment because the 700MHz is complied to the capillarity of networks already
deployed for the 900MHz or 1800MHz or 2100MHz frequency bands.
APT700MHz is powerful for enhancing cell edge coverage for in-building scenarios. It can
greatly benefit all LTE services types such as video and VoLTE.
On average and based on current APT700 allocations in several countries it can provide
blocks of 10MHz to 15MHz to operators. It is a significant advantage to develop MBB.
APT700 can be easily combined with other bands to provide LTE-Advanced carrier
aggregation services. It is already in used by 10+ operators (worldwide).
APT700 is a perfect option to leverage new services such as NB-IoT due to its significant
propagation advantages.
APT700 ecosystem as a whole has already reached a significant market size. All major chipset
vendors have already released products supporting APT700 frequency band since 2013, and
there are ~500 LTE commercial terminals supporting APT700 as of today. In addition APT700 can
be aggregated to other band to boost the end-users throughput. Commercial terminals supporting
CA scenarios in using APT700 are commercially available since 2015.
Finally the wireless industry has over passed possible interference issues between APT700 and
other legacy systems (whatever they are, cellular or TV broadcasting services). There is a
consistent set of proposals and guidances from standardization bodies, regulators, operators and
vendors to mitigate interferences to or from APT700 band. Such rules have been already applied in
several countries where APT700 band is used for commercial LTE services. Of course it is
assumed here that local TRAs with relevant Government offices have successfully implemented a
digital switchover roadmap to free the APT700 spectrum for mobile communications.
adoption dData/WhatsNew/Documents/F
[H2-2016] A first auction for APT700 took inal%20-%20IMT%20Reco%20
place in 10-2016 but due to the high reserved 19MARCH2013.pdf
price set by local authorities operators decided http://www.trai.gov.in/WriteRea
to buy other bands at a cheaper price. dData/Recommendation/Docu
Therefore APT700 band allocation in India will ments/Finally%20final%20reco
be postponed to a later date. mmendations230412.pdf
http://www.gsma.com/newsroo
m/gsma-comments-on-recomm
endation-by-indian-regulator-to-
adopt-apt-band-plan-for-700mh
z-spectrum
Telecom Regulatory Authority
of India publication of a
document titled
“Recommendations on
“IMT-Advanced Mobile Wireless
Broadband Services,” the
adoption of the APT FDD option
for the 698-806MHz” on
03-2013; APT700 consultation
in 2013)
APT700 plan in Q4-2016
Indonesia [16-05-2013] Indonesia APT700 adoption http://mastel.or.id/files/1-1%20
status Denny%20Setiawan%20-%20
MCIT.pdf
Yankee Group’s report about
APT700 band plan 21-06-2013
Iran [16-05-2013] Committed to support APT700 South Asia Telecom Regulatory
band plan Council – SATRC – meeting on
16-05-2013
Japan [06-2012] Japan APT700 allocation to http://www.telecomasia.net/con
Docomo, eAccess and KDDI tent/japan-allocates-700-mhz-s
pectrum
Malaysia [21-06-2013] Support of APT700 plan Yankee Group’s report about
APT700 band plan 21-06-2013
Maldives Island [16-05-2013] Committed to support APT700 South Asia Telecom Regulatory
band plan Council – SATRC – meeting on
16-05-2013
Mexico [H2-2012] Mexico APT700 adoption (Mexico http://www.cft.gob.mx:8080/port
COFETEL decision, 09-2012) al/wp-content/uploads/2012/09/
[2016] On-going APT700 allocation Comunicado-38-Cofetel-recomi
enda-adoptar-el-modelo-Asia-P
acífico-para-la-segmentación-d
e-la-banda-700-Mhz-sep-19-20
12.pdf
http://www.policytracker.com/h
eadlines/mexico-adopts-apt-pla
n
http://www.cft.gob.mx:8080/port
al/2012/09/cofetel-recomienda-
adoptar-el-modelo-asia-pacifico
-para-la-segmentacion-de-la-ba
nda-700-mhz-comunicado-381
2/
http://www.coleago.co.uk/filead
min/user_upload/Downloads/A
PT_Band_Plan_Adopted_by_M
exico_230912.pdf
Issue 2.0 (2016-12-13) Huawei Proprietary and Confidential Page 44 of 47
APT700 LTE whitepaper (Q4-2016)
http://www.apt.int/sites/default/fi
les/Upload-files/SATRC/SAPIV-
WGS01-INP-08_700_MHz_Ba
nd_Plan.pdf
Nepal [16-05-2013] Committed to support APT700 South Asia Telecom Regulatory
band plan Council – SATRC – meeting on
16-05-2013
New Zealand [10-2013] New Zealand APT700 allocation to http://www.rsm.govt.nz/cms/poli
2Degrees, Telecom New Zealand and cy-and-planning/projects/digital
Vodafone New Zealand -dividend-planning-for-new-use
s-of-the-700-mhz-band/Digital_
Dividend_Allocation_Scoping_
Workshop___Background_Pap
er.pdf
http://www.cellular-news.com/st
ory/59424.php
http://www.cellular-news.com/st
ory/62720.php
http://www.telegeography.com/
products/commsupdate/articles
/2013/10/30/telecom-vodafone-
2degrees-scoop-700mhz-spect
rum/index.html
Nicaragua [08-2013] As of today Nicaragua is the only GSMA presentation titled
Central America country going to use US 700 “Benefits of harmonising Digital
band Dividend”, 08-2013
Panama [09-2012] Panama APT700 adoption status http://www.asep.gob.pa/www/p
National Public Services Authority of Panama df/anno_5628-telco.pdf
Resolution for use of APT700 http://www.apt.int/sites/default/fi
les/Upload-files/SATRC/SAPIV-
WGS01-INP-08_700_MHz_Ba
nd_Plan.pdf
Pakistan [16-05-2013] Committed to support APT700 South Asia Telecom Regulatory
band plan Council – SATRC – meeting on
16-05-2013
Papua New [07-04-2013] Papua New Guinea APT700 http://www.apt.int/sites/default/fi
Guinea adoption status les/Upload-files/SATRC/SAPIV-
[2014] Allocation of APT700 block to a local WGS01-INP-08_700_MHz_Ba
mobile operator nd_Plan.pdf (to refer to page
#8)
Comisión Interamericana de
Telecomunicaciones
Inter-American
Telecommunication
Commission on 07-04-2013
Peru [10-2012] Peru APT700 adoption status http://www.apt.int/sites/default/fi
[2016] Allocation of 3 blocks of APT700 band to les/Upload-files/SATRC/SAPIV-
3 local operators WGS01-INP-08_700_MHz_Ba
nd_Plan.pdf (to refer to page
#8)
Singapore [21-06-2013] Support of APT700 plan Yankee Group’s report about
APT700 band plan 21-06-2013
South Korea [10-2012] South Korea APT700 adoption http://www.apt.int/sites/default/fi
status les/Upload-files/SATRC/SAPIV-
APT700 allocation to be planned in 2016/2017 WGS01-INP-08_700_MHz_Ba
nd_Plan.pdf (to refer to page
#8)
Sri Lanka [16-05-2013] Committed to support APT700 South Asia Telecom Regulatory