Mobile phone companies and regulators face a stark choice in the
next few years: double the number of cellsites to 5000, allow existing
cellsites to be built higher, or take the radical step of sanctioning a
single mobile access network that would be shared by all.
The Telecommunications Industry Group (TIG), whose
members include Vodafone and Telecom, told the Treasury that 2500
cellsites would need to be built in a few years' time at a cost of $625
million to support 4G mobile networks, unless height restrictions on
existing cellsites were loosened.
The alternative was for mobile network operators to
club together to build a single 4G access network using shared radio
spectrum. 2degrees chief executive Eric Hertz says that idea should be
seriously considered and Telecom is open to the idea in principle.
Vodafone is non-committal.
Vodafone, Telecom and 2degrees are expected to start
making the switch to 4G mobile technology LTE (Long Term Evolution) in
2013 at a cost of billions of dollars, using radio spectrum in the
700MHz band that will be freed up by the closure of analogue television
transmissions.
The TIG says that because of the scale of the
construction, telcos might need to start buying suitable sites to erect
new cellsites as early as next year.
Delivering 4G nationwide would require significantly
more cellsites - potentially between 50 per cent and 100 per cent more
- than today's GSM and 3G networks. But doubling the number of
cellsites to 5000 risked a public backlash.
It told the Treasury, which is consulting generally
on national infrastructure issues, that one option might be to relax
height restrictions on existing cellsites, which would make it easier
for operators to share towers.
Because of planning regulations, most cellsites in
New Zealand are 15 metres to 20m high, about 10m shorter than those in
Europe. The result had been "an unnecessary proliferation of masts".
Antennas need to be vertically separated by a few
metres to avoid interference and lower antennas provide limited
coverage, making it unattractive for network operators to share short
towers. If higher cellsites (25m to 30m) were permitted, LTE networks
could be built without significant further site acquisition, it says.
TIG chief executive Rob Spray says no-one wants another 2500 cellsites.
He says a single shared 4G network would reduce the need for more or
higher towers. "Maybe we don't need lots of different pieces of
spectrum, maybe we need one big piece that everyone shares."
Telecom spokesman Mark Watts says sharing of
spectrum and co-location are "all issues to be grappled with, but not
right now in any detail".
"Sharing has appeal from a cost viewpoint as the
industry may struggle at some point to fund widespread LTE deployment
at a price to customers that recoups the investment and which customers
are happy with."
Vodafone spokesman Paul Brislen says the company is
keen to share towers with other operators, but a common mobile access
network using shared spectrum and antennas could have wider
ramifications.
"I can well imagine there would be anti-competitive concerns."
Mr Hertz says a shared network built by a joint venture might make
sense. "If you are competing at the retail level it is often hard to
have those discussions, but the reality is as we look at 4G and the
difficulty around towers there are a lot of incentives to figure out a
way to make it happen.
"The network is not something that you necessarily
have to differentiate. You can differentiate based on your services and
devices."
Vodafone, Telecom and 2degrees invested more than $1
billion in mobile networks last year alone as they sought to leap-frog
one another. The competitive dynamic driving that investment could be
reduced if infrastructure was shared.
Mr Spray says once telcos have moved to LTE and are
on the same technology platform using similar frequency spectrum, it is
likely the market will settle down.
"You will see the builds happen around 2013 and I think you will see those networks in place for a very long time."
LTE will deliver peak download speeds of 100 megabits per second, five
times the top performance of Telecom and Vodafone's existing networks.
