Mobile industry calls for cheaper airwaves for 3G

The mobile phone industry called on Monday for regulators to open up the airwaves to make high-speed third-generation (3G) services available to about 300 million more people.

The GSM Association (GSMA), the global trade body for the mobile phone industry, wants regulators around the world to allow operators to use a 900 MHz spectrum for 3G services, in addition to 2100 MHz currently used.

The GSMA estimates an additional 300 million people across Asia, Europe and Africa would have access to mobile broadband services by 2012 if this were to happen, because the lower frequency would enable operators to expand their networks more cheaply.

The GSMA's comments follow the first commercial 3G call on a 900 MHz network, owned by Elisa, in Finland last year, and come as regulators in France, Switzerland and New Zealand move towards allowing 3G services on the lower frequency.

"Now this market is taking off," Eetu Prieur, head of radio networks at Elisa, said.

"We see 900 MHz network as very important for us in the coming years, as it enables us to cover sparsely populated areas with a 3G network for a significantly lower price," he said.

The 2100 MHz frequency, which was relatively unused in most countries, was allocated for 3G calls in the 1990s. The 900 MHz is one of the most-used spectrum bands.

Operators spent billions on 3G licenses at the height of the dot-com bubble but few have received returns so far. The high start-up costs of 3G networks have deterred operators from rolling out networks with wide geographical coverage.

But using 900 MHz spectrum instead of 2100 MHz would cut costs significantly, GSMA said, citing a study by researchers at Ovum.

"The study shows that a 3G network in the 900 MHz band would achieve up to 40 percent greater coverage than a 3G network in the 2100 MHz band for the same capital expenditure," GSMA said.

However, Stewart Anderton, consultant at Ovum, warned: "Regulators must be careful to avoid interference with existing GSM services or interference across national borders," said

Nokia, the world's top cellphone maker, unveiled its first 3G phone for the 900 MHz frequency last week. The model is expected to be in the shops by September.

Prieur said all major telecom network vendors have already rolled out, or will do so this year, their 900 MHz network equipment for 3G, while handset vendors are also moving towards adding 900 MHz spectrum to their 3G phones.