Part A – Decisions on Band Plan and Mapping of Incumbents to the New Band Plan (continued)
1. Band Plan (continued)
1.2 Adoption of Band Plan (continued)
Although harmonization with the U.S. band plan would simplify cross-border frequency coordination and present a technology-flexible option, the Department proposed the implementation of the ITU band plan (shown in Figure 3 below), noting that the ITU band plan would:
- allow the deployment of both FDD and TDD systems;
- promote spectral efficiency, since guardbands, which are mostly unusable spectrum, would not be required between operators in adjacent FDD frequency blocks;
- permit global harmonization, thus enabling economies of scale for equipment and international roaming;
- facilitate equipment compatibility with other mobile bands licensed in Canada on a paired basis; and
- enable access to a wider range of services and applications which are expected to be developed on a global basis.
Figure 3 – Option 2 – ITU Band Plan Model
In response to DGSO-001-10, most parties agreed that adopting the ITU band plan would provide several advantages, as noted above. All parties supported the option to adopt the ITU band plan, with the exception of Intel, which instead advocated a "flexible technology neutral" band plan, such as the one adopted by the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) in the United States.
Based on the considerable advantages inherent in the ITU band plan and overwhelming stakeholder support, the Department has decided to adopt the ITU band plan for the 2500 MHz band.