Asia/Pacific (Excluding Japan) Prospects for the Golden Band 7-20GHz

In this Market Note, we review the prospects of new spectrum bands in the golden band 7-20GHz for 5G new radio (NR) by looking at the radio frequency propagation, coverage, and power requirements for the FR1 (sub-7GHz bands) and FR2 (24.35-52.56GHz) bands. Mid-band capacity bands are needed globally and regionally to deal with the pervasive growth in IP traffic on mobile networks, which will only grow as 5G reaches both enterprise and consumer markets. High density population centers will benefit the most from mid-band capacity by reducing the number of small cells that need to be built around macro cells. The Asia/Pacific region will benefit greatly from the new mid-band capacity spectrum as a balanced approach is needed between high-capacity and mobility and coverage. Long term, the golden band 7-20GHz will become instrumental to 5G.