Globe backs harmonization of radio frequency in Asia

MANILA, Philippines - Globe Telecom, a joint venture between Ayala Corp. and Singapore Telecom (SingTel), said it strongly supports moves to revise the radio frequency spectrum to allow easier and cheaper global broadband expansion and lower the cost of mobile devices in many markets.

Globe corporate and legal services group head Atty. Froilan Castelo said the company is supporting initiatives by the International Telecommunication Union (ITU) and GSM Association (GSMA) to revise the radio frequency spectrum as it is imperative that Asia-Pacific carriers come up with a common stand on the issue of spectrum harmonization.

Castelo explained that consistency and fairness in the allocation of frequency spectrum would help boost competitiveness and give telecommunication companies the opportunity to further expand penetration and offer more compelling products and services.

“While Globe recognizes that the power of managing spectrum allocation is in the hands of the regulators, we believe that a review and revision of frequency spectrum can bring benefits to a greater number of people, particularly in far-flung, rural areas,” Castelo said.

He explained that telcos would be able to deliver low-cost Internet connectivity and the cost of mobile devices could become lower since there would be no need to customize these across differing spectrum bands.

For instance, the new Long-Term Evolution (LTE) standard for high-speed data for mobile phones and data terminals which wireless carriers worldwide are currently deploying can be used with many different frequency bands.

As a result, cellular phones from one country may not work in other countries unless the units are multi-band capable.

GSMA is pushing for a harmonized 700MHz band plan for mobile services across the Asia-Pacific region, noting that spectrum harmonization would result in bigger economies of scale and increase the capacity of the region’s mobile operators to provide better telecommunication services.

The organization, in partnership with The Boston Consulting Group (BCG), has published research suggesting that mobile services could boost Asia-Pacific economies by $729 billion in the next 20 years through the region-wide adoption of the 700MHz spectrum band for mobile broadband.

GSMA senior director for spectrum policy and regulatory affairs Chris Perera said it is imperative that the region works together to swiftly implement the harmonised 700MHz band plan for mobile services to realize the potential.

“Rapid adoption and alignment would generate huge cost efficiencies in both network technology and devices, and ultimately make mobile services more accessible and affordable for consumers,” Perera added.

On the other hand, the latest traffic and market report by global telecommunications equipment provider Ericsson showed around 3.4 billion people would have ready access to super-fast wireless broadband speeds of up to 100Mbps in five years’ time.

The report showed that LTE has a five percent world population coverage which translates to about 344 million people as of end 2011.

In the next half decade, the report predicts that a 10-fold increase in potential reach is in the horizon as technology continues to gain mainstream acceptance worldwide.

Furthermore the same study revealed that the Asia Pacific is a prime candidate for an “uptake”, citing strong population and improving gross domestic product (GDP) growth. An estimated 1.5 billion new mobile subscribers is predicted to emerge from the region alone.