Since the times of the USSR, the allocation of spectrum in the CIS countries and in Western countries has developed in an alternated manner: where there were civilian radio frequencies in the CIS, they were used for state purposes in the West. And vice versa. Hence, there are problems of cross-border coordination in some bands.
Technical problems arise between neighboring countries, especially when large populated areas are located in vicinity of their borders. For example, between Kyrgyzstan and Uzbekistan there is a problem in the 700 MHz band: Kyrgyzstan still uses terrestrial broadcasting on these frequencies, and because of this, Uzbekistan can not use these channels for fourth generation LTE networks in border areas. The 700 MHz band replanning is a major task for the entire Central Asian region as a whole. ITU addresses this issue at various events, for example at the ICT Week in Uzbekistan, which took place at the end of October 2022.
ITU-R Radio Regulations, as the fundamental ITU document, regulates relations between countries regarding the use of radio frequency spectrum, defines their rights and obligations. However, due to the sensitivity of cross-border coordination issues, many aspects of this topic are deliberately removed from this international treaty with the caveat that when frequency band is allocated to different services of the same category in neighboring areas, “the operation of these services is carried out on the basis of the principle of equality of rights.” The purpose of the training is, among other things, to find opportunities to harmonize the use of spectrum to minimize problems in border areas.
Spectrum assignment
The ITU does not regulate the spectrum assignment at the national level. However, as part of country training, ITU invites outside experts to share the best practices of other countries and, perhaps, their mistakes.
More than half of the countries in the region have not yet allocated spectrum for 5G. However, Uzbekistan, for example, has made significant progress in this direction. The main decisions on spectrum allocation in the country were made in 2019-2020, particularly, in the 3500-3800 MHz band. Large-scale commercial deployment of 5G in Uzbekistan began in 2022.
An auction was also held in Kazakhstan for the assignment of the 3600-3800 MHz band. A similar decision was made in Tajikistan. In other countries of the region, 5G/IMT-2020 launch conditions are being evaluated, prepared and determined. In some countries, 5G/IMT-2020 networks have been launched in the test mode, for example, in Azerbaijan and Kyrgyzstan.
Many developing countries in our region do not experience difficulties when releasing spectrum bands, since they were not previously occupied by other services. At the same time, as at the international level, the process of releasing the 700 MHz band is most difficult at the national level. Analog and digital television broadcasting continues to operate on these frequencies in some countries and should be migrated to frequencies below 694 MHz in order to open the possibility for the implementation of modern mobile networks.
Vadim Poskakukhin, technical director of Ubiquitous Wireless LLP, is responsible for expertise in the field of ICT regulation and the use of frequency spectrum in the private research and development company Ubiquitous Wireless LLP (Astana, Kazakhstan), focusing on wireless technologies development in CIS region. Vadim has 20 years of experience in technical and regulatory matters on IMT spectrum harmonisation across national and international levels, as well as substantial experience in short range devices, PMR and fixed service He has also a long experience in ITU-R, ECC and RCC on different WRC agenda items and topics related to IMT.
At 5G trainings, ITU experts address issues of spectrum cost and obligations for operators to roll-out infrastructure, and government support measures. In addition, network launch strategies are considered: Non-StandAlone and StandAlone architectures, various RAN deployment models, issues of maintaining backward compatibility and the development of VoLTE/VoNR, as well as infrastructure sharing.
Operators can share both active infrastructure - base stations, and passive infrastructure - cables, masts. At seminars, experts emphasize that the government should create a regulatory framework that will secure the possibility of joint use of passive and active infrastructure. It is advisable to mandate non-discriminatory access to passive infrastructure. For active infrastructure, the regulatory framework should support sharing, but not force operators to do so.
Liberalization of the regulatory framework
One of the most pressing issues in the CIS region is the limits for the maximum permissible level of electromagnetic radiation from base stations. While most countries rely on ICNIRP international standard, the countries of the former USSR still have more stringent requirements for electromagnetic radiation, which are recognized by the international community as excessive. Various studies show that strict government regulations increase radiophobic attitudes in society - when people sabotage the installation of base stations, for example. In addition, excessive requirements for infrastructure density due to EMF regulations lead to a significant increase in the cost of 5G networks deployment.
In addition to the World Health Organization, the International Committee on Non-Ionizing Radiation Protection (ICNIRP) and the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE), ITU, namely the Telecommunication Standardization and Development Sectors, is also involved in assessing the levels of exposure from telecommunications infrastructure.
An informative review of the scientific basis of Soviet and Russian EMF protection methodology by international experts showed that the general approach to protecting public health and establishing exposure limits adopted by previous Soviet and current Russian committees is that people should not compensate for any detected biological effects caused by exposure to RF EMF. International restrictions are based on the prevention of adverse health effects.
According to ITU-T, EMF exposure limits that are more stringent than ICNIRP or IEEE recommendations negatively affect all potential levers for wireless infrastructure development and 5G deployment: spectrum, technology (definition of spectral efficiency), and network topology (number of nodes and sectors).
5G for digital transformation
5G networks contribute to intensive economic development and digitalization. Therefore, operators are interested in introducing new services using 5G and creating partnerships with industrial enterprises. The 5G infrastructure is conceived as a unified technology platform for other Industry 4.0 trends - digitalization, cloudification, the use of artificial intelligence - when AI is more widely implemented, cloud computing will take place within the 5G network.
5G networks can become a catalyst for the development and implementation of services in agriculture, which, for example, Uzbekistan is striving for; or in oil production – as is the case with Azerbaijan.
To implement 5G, on the one hand, the level of industrial development in the country must already be quite high, on the other hand, 5G networks themselves require large investments. Because of this, the deployment of 5G requires a more cautious and thoughtful approach for countries with developing economy. They are faced with the issue of fully utilizing 4G networks without falling behind in the implementation of advanced 5G services. ITU workshops encourage states to act proactively - assign spectrum, consider the need for obligations, simplify regulations and supporting measures so that the introduction of 5G networks does not disrupt the ongoing process of 4G investment.
