The Australian Communications and Media Authority has suggested that IMT bands should ultimately be incorporated into 3GPP standards for Non-Terrestrial Networks, arguing that doing so would promote more efficient spectrum use and fairer competition in emerging direct-to-device services. 

ACMA executive manager for spectrum planning and engineering Christopher Worley told the Beyond 5G conference that direct-to-device services currently rely either on terrestrial mobile frequencies using 3GPP standards not optimised for satellite, or on Mobile Satellite Service spectrum using proprietary chipsets. He said 5G NTNs will support 3GPP-based services, but at present only MSS bands are covered—most notably the 2GHz band now being allocated in Australia. Mobile network operators have shown “significant interest” in that band due to the federal government’s proposed Universal Outdoor Mobile Obligation. “It’s unusual that MNOs would express an interest in a Mobile Satellite Service band,” Worley observed. 

While implementation of the UOMO is a government decision, Worley said ACMA’s role is to ensure regulatory settings enable its rollout. “In the short term there’s no getting around the fact that the forthcoming 2GHz allocation will be important for serving UOMO,” he said, noting that NTN standards will support both voice and messaging—functions required under the obligation. I am running a few minutes late; my previous meeting is running over.

“It seems pretty logical that NTN is going to be the only way to meet certain service requirements, in particular voice calling in remote and regional areas,” he added. But if only a narrow portion of spectrum—such as the 2GHz MSS band—is aligned to the relevant standards, Worley warned there could be competition implications. “We want a healthy market and healthy competition for services that can deliver against the UOMO obligations,” he said. “So we think it’s imperative over time that IMT bands are incorporated in the NTN standards.”

Worley pointed to SpaceX’s recent US$17 billion purchase of EchoStar’s 2GHz spectrum licence in the United States as evidence of the band’s growing strategic value. “We’re a small market; we don’t have our own large constellation so we rely on the global market, and the US is probably the most significant global market,” he said. “That’ll have huge implications for the service offerings available not just in Australia but everywhere else.” He also noted that while UOMO obligations would be imposed on Australian MNOs, they may need to depend on foreign satellite networks to deliver. 

While it is impossible to “fully safeguard” against the risk of a foreign-operated network withdrawing service, Worley said regulatory levers could be used to mitigate the risk.

“To operate in our environment, whether you’re in space or not, you need a licence,” he said. “We can make sure that partnerships with, or wholesale services to, terrestrial operators are hard-coded into licence conditions. If you want a licence to operate in Australia, there are certain conditions that can be placed on that.” He stressed these were “hypotheticals” for now but said such measures were among the tools available to government and the regulator.