Press release

Innovation in Spectrum Allocation Key to Unlocking Full 5G Potential

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Sponsored by Businesswire

Without further innovation in spectrum allocation and more efficient
resource management and interconnection, mobile networks will struggle
to cope with the demands triggered by the explosion of services and
solutions enabled by 5G network technology, says iconectiv, world
leaders in telephone numbering and administration.

During a panel
discussion
at the Connect
(X)
conference in Orlando, Fla., Gary Richenaker, Principal
Solutions Architect, iconectiv, will discuss the industry’s decision to
maximize spectrum allocation so that the full benefits of 5G mobile
technology is realized. This is made possible by enabling more
specialist networks and service providers to utilize existing E.212
International Mobile Subscriber Identity (IMSI) resources to enable full
network interconnectivity.

“While 5G networks promise fresh and exciting solutions for businesses
and consumers – be it connected cars, the IoT, or advanced video and
data services – delivering these services efficiently requires us to
look more imaginatively at the way we allocate and manage a finite IMSI
resource for maximum benefit,” Richenaker said.

One way the industry is addressing this demand is to permit the use of
shared or unlicensed spectrum to lower the cost of entry and allow
non-traditional service providers to launch mobile networks. As an
example, the CBRS Alliance – an industry body focused on the Citizens
Band Radio Services (CBRS) – is already actively supporting the
development and commercialization of CBRS spectrum for 4G and 5G mobile
services in buildings, public spaces and industrial IoT environments.

Large venues such as business parks, college campuses, sports arenas or
shopping malls could use this spectrum to augment their own networks and
introduce new services. However, they require IMSI resources to enable
interconnection.

Interconnection key to maximize spectrum and support demand

All around the world, the mobile industry uses a unique 15-digit
numbering system – known as the International
Mobile Subscriber Identity (IMSI)
– to identify mobile subscribers.
The IMSI enables any mobile operator to provide a connection to any
device from any other operator worldwide and is the commercial and
technical heartbeat of the global mobile ecosystem.

The first six digits of the IMSI, known as the Home Network Identity
(HNI), identify the country and the mobile operator. The remaining
digits identify the individual subscriber. Bringing all the CBRS
networks into the global ecosystem requires all those networks to adopt
a recognized public resource; IMSIs. However, the sheer volume of
potential CBRS networks would quickly consume all the available HNI
network codes.

In the United States, iconectiv administers the HNI portion of the IMSI
resource on behalf of the Department of State and the ATIS
IMSI Oversight Committee (IOC). Richenaker will outline to delegates at
Connect X the innovative plans to enable all the potential CBRS networks
in utilizing a shared HNI.

“Each network has to be identified independently for interconnection to
be efficiently supported,” Richenaker said. “The original structure of
the global IMSI system was designed around a relatively small number of
networks each supporting a relatively large number of subscribers. These
new CBRS networks, however, will effectively operate in reverse – where
a large number of small operators each supporting a few thousand
subscribers.”

“The new approach,” he explained, “involves creating a shared HNI code
for all the potential new entrants and thereby splitting the Mobile
Station Identification Number (MSIN) into two parts – four to identify
the CBRS network and five to identify the subscriber. That means each
CBRS network code could still support up to 100,000 individually
identifiable subscribers.”

Using this approach, every CBRS network could efficiently be integrated
into the global mobile ecosystem given the proper interconnection
agreements.

“By utilizing the IMSI resource in this manner we can really unlock the
potential spectrum – such as CBRS – to be used for fully connected LTE
and 5G networks,” he says. “There’s no doubt that bringing that spectrum
efficiently into the LTE family is the best way to deliver the coverage,
capacity and capability that the users are going to demand.”

About iconectiv

iconectiv provides authoritative numbering intelligence to the global
communications industry. Our market-leading solutions enable the
interconnection of networks, devices and applications for more than two
billion people every day who count on a simple, seamless and secure way
to access and exchange information. With 30+ years of experience and
more than 5K customers worldwide, iconectiv has intimate knowledge of
the intricacies and complexities in creating, operating and securing the
communications infrastructure for service providers, regulators and
enterprises. Our solutions span network and operations management,
numbering, registries and fraud prevention. For more information, visit www.iconectiv.com.