A Look at the Current Status of 5G and Millimeter Waves at Home and Abroad [Part 1] -- Frequency Allocation and Commercial Service Launch

5G services are progressing in countries around the world. On the other hand, the use of "millimeter wave," which uses a higher frequency band among 5G services, is still limited, although the allocation of frequencies is progressing. In this article, we will introduce the domestic and international status of 5G and millimeter wave services in two parts. In the first part, we will look at 5G and millimeter wave frequency allocations, the status of commercialization service launches, and the status of millimeter wave compatible handsets. In the second part, we will explain 3GPP standardization trends and the movement of each country.

While 5G services are highly anticipated as a new social infrastructure that will bring significant economic benefits, and services are progressing in countries around the world, the use of millimeter waves has remained limited in all countries except the United States, despite progress in frequency allocation and the need to use them together with sub6 to fully utilize the potential of 5G. However, with the exception of the U.S., the use of millimeter wave has remained limited in all countries.

Under these circumstances, Japan is second only to the U.S. in the progress of commercialization, and discussions are underway in government and industry to take the initiative in the world in the future.
This chapter provides an overview of the domestic and international situation regarding these millimeter waves.

Frequency Allocation Trends

In countries around the world, 400 MHz to 1000 MHz widths have been allocated mainly in the 26/28 GHz band for 5G service applications. Millimeter wave frequencies are available in 31 countries by December 2022, and 18 countries have allocated frequencies to operators in 2022, bringing the number of operators with commercial operations to 28 (including private network operators) (Fig. 2-1). In 10 countries including Japan, millimeter wave spectrum has been allocated not only for public networks but also for private networks (Fig. 2-2). In addition, the number of countries and regions where millimeter wave will be available is expected to gradually increase as more countries and regions plan to conduct frequency auctions.

While WTP (Willingness To Pay) and ARPU (Average Revenue Per User) tend to improve as the use of millimeter wave advances in each country, it is reported that only 20% has advanced to commercialization among the operators who have been allocated millimeter wave spectrum. The share of millimeter wave-capable handsets is 10%, and the flagship handsets in each country are not millimeter wave-capable.

In Japan, sub6 (3.6 GHz to 4.1 GHz, 4.5 GHz to 4.6 GHz) and millimeter wave (27.0 GHz to 28.2 GHz, 29.1 GHz to 29.5 GHz) frequencies for 5G were assigned to four mobile operators in April 2019. In December 2019, local 5G was institutionalized in some frequencies (100 MHz width from 28.2 GHz to 28.3 GHz) and license applications were accepted from the end of FY 2019; in December 2020, frequencies for local 5G were extended (4.6 GHz to 4.9 GHz and 28.3 GHz to 29. 1 GHz).

As for local 5G, millimeter wave was allocated earlier than sub6, but its utilization did not progress, partly because it was initially assumed to be operated by NSAs with LTE carriers as anchors, and partly because the use of millimeter wave was not widely adopted by cell phone operators. In addition, the use of millimeter waves was not widely adopted by mobile phone operators.

Currently, the Japanese government is discussing[4] new allocation schemes, etc., with a view to allocating additional spectrum in the 4.9 GHz band (4.9 GHz to 5.0 GHz) / 26 GHz band (26.6 GHz to 27.0 GHz) / 40 GHz band (39.5 GHz to 43.5 GHz).

Fig. 2-1 5G millimeter wave frequency allocation and commercialization status (as of November 2022) [1].

Fig. 2-2 Global millimeter-wave band frequency status (as of December 2022) [2].

Launch of millimeter wave commercialization services, etc. in each country (overview)

Overall

Commercial services using millimeter wave have been limited to the United States and Japan as of November 2022. Countries in the early stages of commercialization include European countries such as Germany, Italy, Finland, and Spain, and Asian countries such as Australia, Taiwan, Hong Kong, and Singapore.

Millimeter waves are expected to enable telecommunications carriers to offer a variety of services, improve sales, and efficiently recover network investments, in addition to efficiently building networks by taking advantage of their economic and other advantages [5].

Fig. 2-3 Examples of economic benefits from millimeter waves [5].

Domestic

In Japan, millimeter wave has been allocated to four telecommunications carriers in 2019, and commercial services have begun.

According to the Ministry of Internal Affairs and Communications, 5G domestic population coverage has reached 93.21 TP3T as of the end of March 2022[6], but most of this is the number of 5G base stations refarmed from 4G frequencies such as 700MHz, 1.7GHz and 3.4GHz/3.5GHz. These total 44,297 stations (with a maximum population coverage of 90.71 TP3T) and account for much of the 5G population coverage. Meanwhile, among the newly allocated frequencies for 5G, sub6 (3.7 GHz, 4.0 GHz /4.5 GHz) has a total of 30,531 base stations (with a maximum population coverage of 31.81 TP3T) and 28 GHz has a total of 13,218 base stations (with a population coverage of 0.01 TP3T). The contribution to population coverage ranged from 0.0% to 31.8% at 3.7GHz and 4.0/4.5GHz, while the millimeter wave band had 0.0% for each company. As for the amount of 5G traffic by band, sub6 is 62.61 TP3T, while millimeter wave is only 0.21 TP3T [7]. In the terminal sales market in Japan, millimeter wave-capable terminals are around 5.21 TP3T (see below).

Currently, the Ministry of Internal Affairs and Communications (MIC) is discussing the future vision of 5G business utilizing high frequency bands such as millimeter wave and measures to expand 5G business.

Fig. 2-4 Results of radio wave usage survey (5G base station availability by band) [7].

Global

As of December 2022, more than 170 diverse millimeter wave-enabled handset models have been announced and released by more than 65 vendors worldwide. In addition to smartphones, a diverse range of products are being deployed, including PCs, WiFi routers and IoT devices, communication modules, and CPE (premises radio equipment) [1]. At present, only a few countries and models have been launched, but the market is gradually expanding. In addition, as described below, millimeter wave-compatible terminals account for 57.31 TP3T of newly shipped terminals in the U.S., and are steadily spreading.

Fig. 2-5 Deployment of millimeter-wave-capable terminals [1].

Domestic

The number of terminals implementing millimeter wave is steadily increasing, with 17 models, mainly high-end models, being released in Japan in 2022. On the other hand, their sales volume is only slightly more than 1.7 million units in 2022, or about 5.21 TP3T of the total terminal sales market [1]. The fact that its share in the terminal sales market is about 1/10th of that in the U.S. is likely due to the fact that, unlike in the U.S., terminals with a high market share in Japan do not support millimeter wave, and high-end terminals are the main models that support it. In the future, it will be an issue to support millimeter wave for terminals with a high market share and for terminals in a wide price range other than high-end terminals.

References

1. Qualcomm Japan, 5G Business Design WG 2nd Meeting, Qualcomm documents.
   https://www.soumu.go.jp/main_content/000860192.pdf
2. Ericsson Japan, 5G Business Design WG 2nd Meeting, Ericsson Document.
   https://www.soumu.go.jp/main_content/000860162.pdf
3. GSMA, 5G mmWave Circa 2023- State of the Market and Look back at our Accomplishments (MWC2023 GSMA document).
4. Ministry of Internal Affairs and Communications, "5G Business Design Working Group" Operation Policy.
   https://www.soumu.go.jp/main_content/000857639.pdf
5. Bell Labs Consulting, The business of 5G mmWave.
6. Ministry of Internal Affairs and Communications, Publication of 5G development status (as of the end of FY2021)
   https://www.soumu.go.jp/menu_news/s-news/01kiban14_02000561.html
7. Ministry of Internal Affairs and Communications, 5G Business Design Working Group (3rd Meeting) Handout.
   https://www.soumu.go.jp/main_content/000860636.pdf

The content of this article has been excerpted and edited based on the 5GMF White Paper "Advanced 5G with Millimeter Wave Penetration, Version 1.0" published by 5GMF on March 31, 2023. The white paper was updated to Version 2.0 on July 3, 2011. To view the full document, please click5GMF Web siteDownload from