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The Small Cell Forum (SCF) hs called upon telecom regulators to help build a ‘consistent and supportive’ regulatory environments for deploying heterogeneous networks (HetNets) with the development of 5G technologies.
The organisation believes that dense HetNets stand as the backbone for pervasive and robust connectivity of underlying communications, which helps efficient utilisation of spectrum and network resources.
In order to support this initiative, SCF is working hand in hand with 5G Americas to develop different best practice guidelines for states, regulators and municipalities in the North America, and has also collaborated with the GSMA in Latin America. SCF is also working with leading carriers in the Middle East and Asia. In Europe, the Forum is in the process of preparing responses to the UK Digital Economy Bill which at present is before the Public Bill Committee.
Alongside that, it is also closely following the review of the European telecom framework, the Electronic Communication Code that contains regulatory proposals aimed to facilitate the deployment and operation of small cells.
David Orloff, chair of the Small Cell Forum, said: “While the air interface continues to dominate industry discussion, the biggest challenges in rolling out the dense networks associated with 5G lie in the underlying network architecture and fragmented and outdated national regulatory frameworks. We are actively engaged in defining operator and vendor priorities for bringing interoperability and consistency to the enabling technologies that will be the foundations for 5G networks.
“At the same time, it is critical that the industry works in conjunction with regulatory bodies to create an environment in which these networks can be swiftly and cost-effectively deployed,” Orloff added.
Earlier this month, the SCF published its latest best practice guide for operators looking to deploy network function virtualisation (NFV), as well as touching on 5G and IoT technologies.
