DoCoMo sounds 3G spectrum alarm
3gnewsroom.com
date: 29 March 2001, source by: IDG
A senior manager of NTT DoCoMo Inc. has raised a
warning flag regarding network capacity for
third-generation (3G) mobile services, saying company
simulations show the spectrum allocated to the
company won't be enough for rich mobile multimedia
services within five to six years. The comments come
just over two months before NTT DoCoMo is expected
to launch the world's first 3G service in Tokyo.
Such 3G services are expected to include a large
number of mobile multimedia services offering audio and
video services to users in addition to the voice
telephony and basic Web browsing available today on
second generation (2G) systems. A potential problem
exists in that multimedia services such as video require a
larger chunk of bandwidth than voice, so serving large
numbers of people in a densely populated area may
prove difficult.
Just how difficult this will be will not be clear until
services are launched and the company gets an idea of
usage patterns and how many times and where the
average user accesses such services.
"We need to monitor the trend of traffic to determine
whether we have sufficient capacity or not," said Kyoji
Murakami, senior manager of the IMT-2000 network
office at NTT DoCoMo, speaking to IDG News Service
at the CeBIT trade show in Hanover. "But we have done
simulations and according to simulation, I have to say,
the currently allocated spectrum, 15MHz, is not
sufficient." He said the projections showed the
bandwidth given to the carrier by the government might
prove too little in five or six years.
The carrier was actually allocated 20MHz of spectrum
but a quarter of it overlaps with the PHS (Personal
Handyphone System) service, making it unusable at
present. In addition to looking at ways of minimizing
interference with PHS, DoCoMo has also been
petitioning the Japanese Ministry of Public
Management, Home Affairs, Posts and
Telecommunications (MPHPT) for at least an additional
5MHz of spectrum. Murakami said adding extra space
was the easiest way to solve the problem.
"For the PDC (the current 2G network) system, we are
allocated 30MHz and with this spectrum we are now
serving 35 million. If we can get an additional 5MHz for
FOMA," he said, referring to DoCoMo's 3G brand name,
"total spectrum is around 20MHz." This means the
company will still have to work on other solutions, such
as improved efficiency of frequency usage but, he said,
"it will be difficult to accommodate all 35 million
subscribers on FOMA."
The problem won't be isolated to DoCoMo either, he
predicted.
"It's going to be a universal problem," he said. In Japan,
the problem will be greatest in the highly populated
Tokyo metropolitan area. "If we can overcome this
problem in the Tokyo metropolitan area, the others areas
will be OK, so I think the same thing can be said about
the U.S.," he said, adding Los Angeles and New York
might prove headaches for wireless network operators.
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My comment: They were just recent awarded 20Mhz of spectrum in a low cost 'beauty' constest and even before their new 3G system is commercially trialed, they've begun to bleat for more. |
