Spectrum Refarming
Spectrum is expensive. Any technology you want to add to your network requires spectrum. Is analysis of prices paid for LTE spectrum in North America and Europe shows existing GSM and UMTS spectrum could be reallocated to LTE deployments for less than 0.5% of the cost of buying new spectrum at auction.
In addition, lower frequencies such as GSM900 propagate further and penetrate buildings better than higher frequencies, making them the preferred choice for LTE coverage.
However lower frequency bands are mostly fully allocated, meaning spectrum refarming is required to release these frequencies.
In many cases, as customers adopt newer technologies, the older networks become under-utilized. This means you can refarm spectrum from older networks without degrading its performance.
To maximise the effectiveness of the spectrum refarming activity it is important to consider multiple elements beyond the frequency re-plan.
Activities such as assessing the current capacity in the network and managing how the traffic will be served are equally important in delivering optimum performance.
We have extensive experience managing not only the technical but also the logistical challenges around spectrum refarming, having delivered projects on more than 20 customer networks in the last three years.
Our robust multi-vendor measurement based methodology is delivered by specialist consultants and underpinned by state of the art tools to maximise network performance.
At the heart of our spectrum refarming solution is Forte, our powerful measurement-based, 2G optimization tool that provides quality, KPI-based evaluations. Our spectrum refarming solution delivers future proof plans (by incorporating expansions plans in the design), automates data collection, parsing, analysis, and implementation scripts, and delivers accurate network modelling and advanced simulation.
Services organisation has the expertise and capacity to deliver excellent results consistently, reducing the risks associated with this critical activity.
We take responsibility for the complete refarming across all vendors, managing all activities from the network preparation and collection of measurements to the implementation and post-implementation parameter tuning and verification.