CTIA Says Allocating Mid-Band for 5G Will Have Economic Benefits

CTIA made an economic case for allocating more spectrum for licensed use as 5G starts. Tuesday's report focuses on 3.45-3.55 GHz being studied by NTIA for possible reallocation, the 3.5 GHz citizens broadband radio service band and the C band. It said carriers will invest more than $154 billion on infrastructure to deliver 5G over mid-band spectrum over seven years. The report and economic model are by Analysis Group. The spectrum studied has “really fantastic propagation characteristics and is really well suited for 5G services,” Scott Bergmann, CTIA senior vice president-regulatory affairs, told us. “It blends the ability to have very high capacity with also broader coverage.” Those bands are also getting the most focus from policymakers, he said. The report is consistent with CTIA’s comments at NTIA on a national spectrum plan (see 1902050054), Bergmann said. “There’s a lot of sense that mid-band spectrum is going to deliver benefits to that next generation of networks, that that’s going to have positive impact for the economy” but policymakers are also looking to better understand “how much that’s the case,” he said.