Telecoms point to growing WiFi, IoT spectrum demand in ISED consultation

Canada’s telecoms are taking sides on how Innovation Canada should approach the release of more licence-exempt spectrum, including whether more should be allocated for WiFi use, as it prepares for the proliferation of connected devices in a 5G world. “As Canadians connect more and more devices to their home networks, more unlicensed spectrum will also be needed to support the faster wireline speeds Internet service providers are delivering,” Rogers Communications Inc. said in a reply to an ISED consultation. ISED is soliciting opinions on what direction it should take over the next five years on a spectrum strategy. The theme for many of the companies in the consultation, which was launched in October, is that more spectrum is needed in various frequencies with an eye to supporting ever-growing data traffic and increasing quality on future networks. The nearly 50 comments were posted Friday. Rogers added that ISED should not restrict licence-exempt spectrum to indoor use, low transmit power or to specific applications, “wherever possible,” to facilitate “greater innovation and utility.” ISED last year authorized the use of high-power and outdoor devices (HPODs) in the 5GHz band, a decision praised by some companies in last week’s replies. Therein lies a trend that Rogers, as well as others, noted: the increase in carrier-grade WiFi, which are telecom-branded hotspots in areas as diverse as highways, malls and urban areas that give customers access at no cost. That — as well as a consistent WiFi experience that encourages video streaming, for example — may lead to higher levels of WiFi traffic that requires more licence-exempt spectrum, Rogers said. “We expect that many applications will require carrier-grade Wi-Fi to deliver satisfactory quality of service to users and operators,” Rogers said. “This is especially true for ‘smart grid’ and ‘smart city’ services which affect critical infrastructure such as pipelines, electricity distribution systems, and public transit systems.” The issue of opening up more WiFi spectrum isn’t a new one. A little over three years ago, briefing notes obtained via an access to information request found that ISED, then Industry Canada, was lobbied to open up more unlicensed spectrum for wireless use. For Shaw Communications Inc., licence-exempt spectrum should be made a priority, as it will ensure there is adequate capacity for growing data demands, including mobile, and for supporting technologies enabled by IoT. But it also suggested that certain bands, including the licence-exempt 5GHz band, could be opened further for broader licence-exempt use. Cogeco Inc. — which does not have, but has contemplated, a wireless division — similarly recommended in its own submission the use of the 5GHz spectrum band to provide more bandwidth for WiFi technologies. It also suggested that the trend of carrier-grade WiFi services will increase over the next five years, which will require the release of additional spectrum in the aforementioned 5GHz band. WiFi and IoT are the two key applications that will lead to growth in demand for licence-exempt spectrum, which can play a role in increasing speeds, BCE Inc. agreed in its reply. But the company suggested that superior technology to WiFi exists in the form of LTE-Unlicensed. LTE-U, as it’s called and as its name implies, combines LTE technology and unlicensed spectrum and offers “a number of advantages over Wi-Fi,” Bell said. An example of that technology is the 3GPP-standard known as Licensed Assisted Access (LAA), which uses the unlicensed 5GHz spectrum to improve the capacity and speeds of licensed spectrum. The technology is designed to allow for coexistence with others in the unlicensed band, offload traffic from the cellular network and improve spectral efficiency over WiFi, Bell noted. Bell said it plans to use LAA to drive ever-greater heights after getting gigabit mobile speeds using LTE-Advanced technology earlier this month. It added in its submission that any low band spectrum (below 6 GHz) should be exclusive to licensed use, as enough high band spectrum exists to support future demand for licence-exempt use. “The increased use of Licence-Exempt spectrum for Wi-Fi will also increase the risk of user interference, quality degradation, and loss of service,” Bell said. “However...LTE-U technology may aid in reducing the inter-system interference, because it is better than existing Wi-Fi systems at protecting and coexisting with other unlicensed systems.” Telus Corp. also had its own successful test of achieving speeds close to 1 Gbps on LTE using LAA. The company said in its own reply that while license-exempt spectrum is important for the country, the spectrum “is no substitute for the more valuable licensed spectrum that is in high demand,” adding demand for licensed spectrum is at risk of outstripping supply. The company said that while it agrees with ISED’s projections that WiFi data usage will jump three-fold in the future, commercial mobile data usage will be higher, increasing five-fold. “Licence-exempt spectrum may experience congestion at some point in the future, but licensed commercial mobile spectrum will experience congestion before 2022 and with potentially significant impact to the digital economy,” Telus added. Xplornet Communications Inc., which argued ISED has focused too much on mobile spectrum and not enough on fixed wireless, said in its submission that unlicensed spectrum can have a role in WiFi hotspots, but it is “generally not a long-term solution to the provision of services by carriers.” Yet, WiFi may prove useful in delivering the LAA technology, it said. “Xplornet does not favour a dramatic expansion of licence-exempt spectrum...it is better to have control of licensed spectrum that permits commitment to service availability and quality of service,” it said, adding the latter is not possible with licence-exempt service. The company also said the increase in carrier-grade WiFi service will negatively impact congestion, affecting all WiFi bands. It said demand could get to a point “where it undermines the use” of WiFi as “a means for relieving pressure on bands using LAA.” Xplornet said LAA could further take advantage of unused spectrum adjacent to the 3.5 GHz band to relieve pressure being placed on that band. ISED had previously been asked by the likes of Telus to prioritize the 3.5 GHz band for 5G, and other companies agreed. Shaw, for example, said ISED should “proceed expeditiously” with the release of spectrum in the band for mobile use to exploit the full potential of 5G or risk falling behind. Meanwhile, on Monday, commissioner Michael O’Reilly of the United States’ Federal Communications Commission (FCC) issued a statement in response to the start of a feasibility study by the National Telecommunications and Information Administration (NTIA) to explore opening the 3450-3550 MHz band for wireless use. “I’ve been clear that we can and must reallocate a good portion of 3.1 to 3.55 gigahertz for commercial wireless purposes,” O’Reilly said. “Today’s announcement by NTIA...is the first step to creating a key building block for a mid-band 5G spectrum play.” — With reporting by Ahmad Hathout at ahathout@thewirereport.ca and editing by Anja Karadeglija at akarad@thewirereport.ca

Telecoms point to growing WiFi, IoT spectrum demand in ISED consultation

News | February 26, 2018

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