Facing the challenge of exponential growth of mobile traffic and strict performance requirements in various 5G usage scenarios, spectrum consideration in 5G research and service planning has become increasingly important. Therefore, both the telecom industry and the regulator have become highly interested in planning their B4G (Beyond 4G) and 5G related spectrum in advance.

In the first part of this talk, the speaker will first provide an overview regarding the general spectrum trend in current global mobile broadband market, typical prediction models used for mobile spectrum demands, recent WRC-15 conclusions on new IMT bands, and the candidate bands for the discussions of WRC-19.

In the second phase, the status of several important B4G/5G candidate bands will be examined and their availability in Taiwan will be used as an example to illustrate the difficulties of spectrum evolution in an area with existing mobile spectrum allocations. The speaker will also examine potential interference and spectrum planning conflicts among B4G/5G bands and several fast emerging IoT and PPDR band requirements, especially in the sub-1GHz band.

In addition, the global trend and importance of spectrum sharing in future mobile spectrum planning will also be introduced, since the spectrum sharing approach can become inevitable in B4G/5G wherever available spectrum is highly limited. Several important spectrum sharing framework will be discussed, including TVWS, LSA, and the use of unlicensed bands for mobile broadband.

Finally, some recommendations for the selection of future B4G/5G spectrum will be presented from an operator's point of view. The final recommended bands can be very operator-dependent, and the rationale will be explained.