1. Spectrum Policy: Act II
IDATE’s point of view
November 2013
Contact Frédéric PUJOL Head of the Radio Technologies & Spectrum Practice

2. Frédéric PUJOL, Head of the Radio Technologies & Spectrum Practice
Frédéric Pujol joined IDATE in November As head of radio technologies and spectrum Practice, he is responsible for coordinating mobile industry forecasting and technical-economic analysis reports.
Previously, Frédéric acquired solid experience in mobile network architecture working for the France Telecom Group (Sofrecom, Telesystems).
Mr. Pujol holds a post-graduate degree in engineering from ISEN (Institut Supérieur d'Electronique du Nord, Lille, 1986), where he majored in Telecommunications, and from CITCOM (Centre d'Ingénierie des Technologies de la Communication, Paris, 1987), where he majored in Network Architecture.

3. Ag enda 2:30-2:40pm IDATE’s point of view
2:40-3:00pm Keynote: Spectrum management: key issues and roadmap to 2015 
Gilles BREGANT, CEO, ANFR
3:00-4:00pm Round table #1 - Sharing the spectrum among mobile telephony and other uses (television, security services)
Chair: Scott MARCUS, Director and Department Manager, WIK Consult GmbH
Alessandro CASAGNI, Head of EU Wireless Regulatory Policy, Huawei
Jeppe JEPSEN, Director of Broadband Spectrum, TETRA and Critical Communication Association
Karl-Heinz LAUDAN, Vice President Spectrum Policy&Projects, Deutsche Telekom AG
Arnaud LUCAUSSY, Director of Regulatory and Public Affairs, TDF
Lasse WIEWEG, Member, UMTS Forum
4:00-4:30pm Coffee Break
4:30-4:40pm Introductive keynote
Joëlle TOLEDANO, PhD in mathematics and economics, Supélec
4:40-5:40pm Round table #2 - How can new technologies facilitate spectrum management? How should the spectrum be priced?
Chair: Frédéric PUJOL, Head of Radio technologies, Spectrum Practice, IDATE
Viktor ARVIDSSON, Strategy & Business Development Director France, Ericsson
Philippe AUBINEAU, Counselor for ITU-R Study Group 1 (Spectrum Management), ITU Radiocommunication Bureau
Wassim CHOURBAJI, Senior Director Government Affairs EMENA, Qualcomm
Eric FOURNIER, Director for Spectrum Planning and International Affairs, ANFR and ECC chairman

4. Major trends in the regulatory framework

5. Main radio spectrum ‘trends’ for 2013-2015
400
600
700
800 1
GHz 2 3
300
900
200
100
MHz
UHF
VHF L -
Band
Unlicensed . 4
UMTS core S
band
IMT
174
223
470
862
2500
2690
2483
2400
2300
410
430
450
880
960
GSM
500
1452
1492
915
925
1710
1785
1805
1880
2010
2025
2110
1980
1900
2170
1920
DECT
1479 5
380
1375
1400
1517
1427
1350
2200
790
1164
Mobile services ( )
PMR
Broadcasting
Fixed services
Satellite
2.1 GHz FDD band: must be available for LTE by
mid-2014 in Europe
2.3 GHz band: progress in Asia, strong interest in Europe and in the USA
L-Band in Europe: toward use as a supplemental downlink band?
2.6 GHz band: last auctions in Western Europe, LTE services in Europe
LTE in the 1800 MHz band: growing interest in Asia-Pacific and in Europe
2 GHz TDD band: STBs?
800 MHz (Digital Dividend): LTE commercial services
700 MHz band:
WRC Availability?
White spaces: first deployments in the USA and in the UK
S-Band: wasting
valuable resource?
Source: IDATE

6. LTE spectrum

7. LTE spectrum Fragmentation is here to stay
Table: Main LTE frequency bands
Fragmentation is here to stay
At mid-2013, the main LTE frequency bands are 1800 MHz (#3), 2.6 GHz (#7) and 700 MHz (North American bands #12, 13; 14 and 17).
Regional harmonisation is probably the first step:
Americas: DD (700 MHz), AWS, 2.6 GHz
Europe: DD (800 MHz), 1800 MHz, 2.6 GHz
Asia-Pacific: 2.3 GHz, 2.6 GHz
A major hurdle for chipset and devices vendors
Roaming is not a priority today
The Apple iPhone5 did not support the 800 MHz and 2.6 GHz bands for Europe.
Band plans are important, as seen in the USA
Two different band plans in the 700 MHz bands respectively for AT&T and Verizon Wireless.
Source: IDATE, October 2013

8. The 700 MHz band

9. The 700 MHz band: a new harmonised frequency band for LTE?
Table: Status of the 700 MHz band (May 2013)
The 700 MHz band corresponds to the first Digital Dividend in the USA and in Asia-Pacific. It could become the second Digital Dividend, in the EMEA region.
The Asia-Pacific Telecommunity (APT) has a harmonised band plan for MHz for Region 3 which was approved by ITU. As is the case with the APT band plan, 2 x 45 MHz of spectrum will be available.
The entire band, according to the APT plan, enables the use of 2 x 45 MHz for FDD operation. A TDD plan has also been defined.
The APT band plans include two duplexers associated with two separate 30 MHz duplex plans. The first is compatible with Europe (lower duplexer plan: and MHz) and the second (718–748 and 773–803 MHz) has already been selected by some Asian countries such as Japan.
Geographical area
700 MHz band
Band plan
Allocation
Commercial services
Europe
MHz
APT likely
>= 2015
Probably in
Middle East & Africa
>= 2013
North America
MHz US
2008
Yes: LTE in the USA
South America
MHz
Mainly APT
>= 2014
Asia-Pacific
APT
Japan, Australia, (New Zealand in Q3 2013)
Source: IDATE, October 2013
Figure: Possible implementation of 2 x 30 MHz FDD band in 700 MHz (lower duplexer)
Source: IDATE, October 2013

10. The 700 MHz band: duplex gap and PPDR networks
Figure: Extension of the APT band plan?
Spectrum for PPDR networks?
2 x 10 MHz for PPDR networks below
1 GHz for high speed transmission
Out-of-band emissions could be different for PPDR networks / commercial networks due to specific needs (such as a limited number of devices, or protection from broadcasters).
The main hurdle with this option is that the mobile industry is cautious in trying to obtain additional spectrum below 700 MHz.
What applications for the duplex gap?
Source: SFR
The duplex gap defined in the 3GPP band plan (#28) represents 25 MHz of spectrum with use of the lower duplexer (10 MHz for the 2 x 45 MHz band plan). There are already candidate options for its use:
A supplemental downlink (SDL) option in order to use 20 MHz ( MHz) out of the 25 MHz of the duplex gap. This would provide additional downlink capacity for the 800 MHz band (3GPP #20).
Use for public protection and disaster relief networks
PPDR technical work is being undertaken by the FM 49 group of ECC (CEPT) in Europe;
Most European countries are currently in favour of using parts of the 700 MHz band or extensions of the 700 MHz band for PPDR applications. Some MENA countries, such as the UAE, have already adopted the 700 MHz band for PPDR.
TDD use of the duplex gap with the band being used for FDD.

11. Spectrum sharing & new radio technologies

12. Supplemental downlink (SDL)
Mobile operators around the world are currently looking into SDL as a solution to meet traffic demands:
Being a further development of FDD networks
which normally use paired spectrum for uplink and downlink, supplemental downlink uses additional unpaired spectrum to enhance the downlink capability of mobile broadband networks. It has not yet been used in mobile networks; it is now possible with carrier aggregation technology. Carrier aggregation and supplemental downlink are included in HSPA+ and LTE-Advanced standards.
AT&T plans to use a supplemental downlink in its LTE network, aggregating 700 MHz unpaired spectrum with other paired spectrum on which it will deploy LTE. The US carrier expects to be able to deploy supplemental downlink as early as AT&T could also use the 700 MHz block it bought from Qualcomm with its AWS spectrum.
Orange France conducted trials in early 2013 in the French city of Toulouse. The mobile operator will use the L-band ( MHz) to provide mobile broadband systems with supplemental downlink capacity. The trial will use Ericsson base stations and devices employing Qualcomm chipsets. Both the base stations and the devices will use sup-plementary carrier frequencies in the L-band for downlink operations, combined with a traditional paired carrier at 2.1 GHz.
The usual downlink channel
is bonded with the supplemental downlink channel(s) located in a different frequency band, to combine a single wider downlink channel as shown in the following figure.
Figure: Principle of supplemental downlink
This provides an answer to the asymmetric nature of multimedia traffic
Growing very fast on mobile broadband networks – it increases traffic in the downlink. An asymmetric configuration with SDL serves to optimise traffic.
Source: Qualcomm

13. Spectrum sharing
Figure: The ‘licensed shared access ‘ concept
Spectrum sharing is seen as one solution to spectrum congestion in Europe and in the USA
Licensed shared access (LSA) is a new regulatory framework for sharing spectrum
“An individual licensed regime of a limited number of licensees in a frequency band, already allocated to one or more incumbent users, for which the additional users are allowed to use the spectrum (or part of the spectrum) in accordance with sharing rules included in the rights of use of spectrum granted to the licensees, thereby allowing all the licensees to provide a certain level of QoS.” (RSPG)
LSA could provide new harmonised spectrum for mobile broadband with predictable QoS guarantees. It could provide a solution to political, time and geographical constraints which occur with attempts to clear a new frequency band.
Source: Huawei
Table: Advantages and constraints of LSA
Advantages
Risks/constraints
Allows more efficient use of spectrum: no change for the incumbent user of the spectrum and provides opportunities for new users/applications.
Need for reliable sharing agreements between primary spectrum users and LSA licencees.
New spectrum can be made available almost on a pan-European basis.
A robust authorisation system must be built and has to be 100% reliable: it could be based upon a data base model in order to provide permanent updates on spectrum availability.
Gives confidence to NRAs and spectrum managers as all LSA users are licenced.
Need to manage the authorisation system.
Compared with the licenced-exempt scheme, it provides more predictable conditions of use and almost allows them to provide the same quality of service as if primary users of the spectrum.
Subject to negotiation with the incumbent user.
Source: IDATE

14. Impact of new radio technologies
New technologies such as ‘cognitive radio’ could well make new business models possible in the future. This can, though, only be expected to have a long-term impact: it will take years before cognitive radio technologies have established themselves significantly.
Cognitive radios see the first real implementation of ‘white spaces’ in the USA and the preparation of the regulatory framework in Europe. If they are successful, white space systems will only represent niche markets, given the numerous limitations to their implementation.
Spectrum aggregation will be a major improvement for mobile operators. It will enable higher data rates and the use of more spectrum in the downlink to adapt the mobile traffic structure. It also makes isolated frequency bands such as the L-Band more attractive to use.
LTE-Advanced is gaining momentum and will probably be implemented before 2015.
Technology
Advantages
Drawbacks
Expected development
Heterogeneous Networks
Enhanced coordination of macro and micro/pico layers
Being included within 3GPP standards
Cognitive radios - dynamic spectrum allocation
Access to a dedicated spectrum band is managed through a database
Administrative procedure have to be defined in relation to database management
Cognitive radios - white spaces
Maximise the use of spectrum: enables new users in underused bands
Interference risks
Likely limited deployment due to difficulties in finding business models
Spectrum aggregation
Enable the use of small portion of spectrum and/or downlink only chunk of spectrum
More complex to implement and more frequency bands to manage
Already implemented in South Korea on LTE-A networks
Source: IDATE

15. 4G spectrum follow-up & licence valuation

16. Comparison of frequency allocations of mobile operators
Table: FDD spectrum assets for selected operators (September 2013)
Source: IDATE
Outcome
The average quantity of spectrum per pop. is 2.06 (1.23 in 2009) MHz per million subscribers for the 5 operators analysed.
More potential spectrum in Western Europe: 700 MHz (second Digital Dividend), 3.5 GHz in the longer term.

17. 4G spectrum price: Digital Dividend, 700 MHz band
Price of premium spectrum
In the USA, the 700 MHz auctions held in 2008 reached an average value of 71 eurocents per MHz per pop. In Germany, the Digital Dividend spectrum was sold for 70 eurocents, in Sweden for 31 eurocents and in Spain for 54 eurocents.
800 MHz band: in France, with 70.4 eurocents per MHz per pop., the average price paid by the three ‘incumbent’ mobile operators is very close to the price paid in Germany in May 2010 (72.7 eurocents) but lower than in Italy in September 2011 (85.5 eurocents).
Australia 700 MHz: the 2013 auctions reached high valuation for the 700 MHz even though no block was sold.
Figure: Price (eurocents) per MHz per pop. (for 10 years)
Source: IDATE

18. 4G spectrum price: 1800 MHz band
Price of 1800 MHz spectrum
The 1800 MHz band is one of the most heavily-used frequency bands for LTE networks
In South Korea, the latest auctions for the 1800 MHz band reached a high valuation: KT paid million USD in September 2013 and SK Telecom paid million USD.
Figure: Price (eurocents) per MHz per pop. (for 10 years)
Source: IDATE

19. 4G spectrum price: higher frequency bands
Price of 2.6 GHz spectrum
The early references for assessing the cost of FDD 2.6 GHz spectrum in Western Europe were the auctions which took place in the four Nordic countries (Denmark, Finland, Norway and Sweden), the Netherlands and Germany. Subsequent auctions in France, Italy and Spain confirmed the initial trends.
Interest in, and valuation of, the 2.6 GHz band is expected to be higher in a few years from now, when lower frequency bands become saturated. The 2.6 GHz band will provide capacity in large cities.
Figure: Price (eurocents) per MHz per pop. (for 10 years)
Source: IDATE

20. Spectrum price Europe: valuation of the main FDD frequency bands
Valuation is very high for sub-1 GHz frequency bands due to their propagation characteristics.
The 2.1 GHz and the 1800 MHz bands are also valued at high levels due to their specific characteristics:
The 1800 MHz band can be rapidly used for LTE
The 2.1 GHz band is the ‘historic’ 3G band and will become a LTE band in Asia-Pacific and later in Europe
Frequency band
Current use
Future use
Valuation
700 MHz
TV broadcast
LTE
+++
800 MHz
900 MHz
GSM/UMTS
GSM/UMTS/LTE
1.5 GHz (L-Band)
No use
LTE or HSPA supplemental downlink
- to +
1800 MHz
GSM
GSM/LTE ++
2.1 GHz
UMTS
UMTS/LTE
2.6 GHz +
3.5 GHz
WiMAX -
Source: IDATE

21. Backup slides

22. Lessons from the World Radiocommunication Conference (WRC-12)
Main items on the Conference agenda
Conditions associated with the use of the MHz band in Europe and neighbouring countries (principally in Africa, Russia and Ukraine).
Introduction and development of mobile broadband (MBB) and other advanced technologies.
Review and possible revision of the international regulatory framework for radiocommunications. Cognitive radios, software-defined radios (SDR) or short-range devices are proving to be disruptive technologies which can impose changes on the existing regulatory framework.
Management of satellite orbits and associated spectrum resources.
Scientific use of the spectrum.
Main outcome
A proposal from African and Middle Eastern countries for a ‘Second Digital Dividend’ was presented at the start of the conference.
The proposed allocation of the 700 MHz band ( MHz) to International Mobile Tele-communications (IMT), possibly quite similar to the first Digital Dividend in ITU Region 3 (Asia-Pacific MHz), initially faced opposition from CEPT countries.
An agreement was finally reached: the conditions for this new frequency band will be validated at WRC-15, after technical studies.
Source: IDATE, October 2013

23. Status of white spaces (1/2)
Figure: Principle of white spaces
The ‘white spaces’ concept enables of telecommunication services in underused frequency bands such as the VHF and UHF bands used for TV transmission. It involves cognitive radio techniques and enables opportunistic-sharing implementation between a primary user (incumbent) and a secondary one (new user). This approach cannot be considered as an off-the-shelf solution as commercial implementation is just starting on a limited basis in the USA and in the United Kingdom.
White spaces still at an early stage
Opportunity to use sparsely-occupied spectrum, attractive spectrum
But protection necessary for TV broadcasting and wireless microphones
Draft ECC report outlines rules for white space devices in Europe
Business models
Middle-mile model
Last-mile model
According to Microsoft, white space spectrum could generate between 3.9 billion USD and 7.3 billion USD in value annually over 15 years.
Source: CEPT
Figure: Concept of white space database for geolocation and spectrum-sensing
USA - How to prevent interference
The FCC technical conditions require that both fixed and portable devices include geo-location and spectrum-sensing applications which integrate with the FCC database of venues such as stadiums and concert arenas that use wireless microphones.
The database also holds TV signal propagation information.
Source: Spectrum Bridge

24. Status of white spaces (2/2)
Due to the decisions taken at RRC-06 and WRC-07 relating to the use of the UHF band for broadcasting, the potential for white space spectrum availability is being gradually reduced. With digital broadcasting replacing analogue broadcasting and the associated re-planning of the UHF band across Europe, less white space spectrum is available now than previously under the analogue plan. The identification of the MHz band to mobile broadband has further reduced the potential spectrum for white space use.
We consider that white space technologies represent niche markets today and that they cannot be used to provide mobile service on a commercial basis in the UHF band. The concept could be extended to other frequency bands where sharing with incumbent users could be easier.
Source: Spectrum Bridge

25. Past and expected spectrum prices
Expected price for future auctions in developed markets
Digital Dividend: 700 and 800 MHz spectrum has the highest valuation today
1800 MHz: one of the most important bands for LTE
3.5 GHz: will see its valuation climbing with the development of LTE small cells
Source: IDATE

26. Main LTE frequency bands: FDD & TDD
The FDD mode has been used since the start of digital mobile networks and is largely dominant worldwide. A more limited number of bands are defined for TDD operations.
Europe, Japan and the USA will share a limited number of common bands (such as around the IMT core bands) and regional differences are likely to remain. This will have a significant impact on LTE dongle and handset manufacturers. They will have to produce products covering different frequency bands for each market or produce more expensive devices covering multiple frequency bands.
As LTE commercial services open up around the world, more frequency bands are in use. The growing fragmentation of the LTE spectrum is complicating life for chipset manufacturers and is a negative factor in international roaming and for cost levels and LTE devices.
The main impact of this spectrum fragmentation is on international roaming. The selection of frequency bands in LTE devices is likely to be shaped by national constraints first. Regional harmonisation could follow.
Source: IDATE, October 2013

27. LTE roaming Most popular LTE bands for international roaming
Many frequency bands will be necessary to provide real international roaming.
First LTE international roaming agreements
Source: IDATE, October 2013
Most active players are South Korean and Japanese operators.
US operators should follow in 2014
APAC: Bridge Alliance
Source: IDATE, October 2013
Source: Spectrum Alliance

28. The 700 MHz band: compatibility issues
Figure: 700 MHz band plan in the USA
The US plan is not compatible with the APT band plan
US auctions in 2008
Part of the 700 MHz band is reserved for public safety
This plan is not compatible with the APT plan, and does not allow any compatibility or roaming for future LTE handsets.
Source: PSRC
There is an overlap between the upper part of the 700 MHz APT band and the lower part of the European 800 MHz plan
Figure: Overlap between 700 MHz APT band plan and 800 MHz band
The MHz portion would overlap between the 700 MHz APT plan and the Digital Dividend in Europe given a 3 MHz guard band in the upper part of the APT plan.
Source: NTRA

29. The 700 MHz band: Asia-Pacific
Figure: 700 MHz band plan in Australia
After postponing its auctions planned for November 2012 to a later date, the Australian Communications and Media Authority (ACMA) organised them for the 700 MHz (digital dividend) and 2.6 GHz bands auction in April/May 2013.
Auctions took place in May Telstra bought 2 x 20 MHz and Optus 2 x 10 MHz of 700 MHz spectrum. A 2 x 15 MHz block - one-third of the total – was not sold, probably due to high reserve prices. The third mobile operator in Australia, Vodafone Hutchison, declared that it did not need spectrum in the 700 MHz band to support its mobile broadband traffic in the years ahead.
Reserve price: 1.36 AUD/MHz/pop
Source: ACMA

30. New frequency bands (1/4)
450 MHz
Figure: 450 MHz spectrum in Brazil
The MHz band is currently used in some Nordic and Eastern European countries by CDMA 2000 networks. These networks are likely to adopt LTE in the coming years. Brazil was the first country to allocate LTE licences in the 450 MHz band in 2012.
No rapid development is expected elsewhere in Western Europe as the spectrum is used by a number of private mobile radio networks.
Source: Anatel
Figure: L-Band: example of channel rasters
700 MHz
See the Digital Dividend section for more details.
L-Band: MHz
The broadcasting part of the so-called L-Band MHz is currently being studied by CEPT, given that digital radio in this band has not taken off according to original plans.
At a multilateral CEPT meeting in Constanţa in 2007, a special arrangement was made to facilitate the introduction of terrestrial mobile multimedia services. It modifies the 2002 Maastricht agreement on the use of the band 1452– MHz for Terrestrial Digital Audio Broadcasting (T-DAB).
In early 2011, the ECC WG FM PT45 conducted a survey on the generic inventory of candidate applications for the MHz band. CEPT Report 018 to the European Commission responded to the Mandate on EU harmonisation of 1452– MHz (lower L-Band) to allow flexible use by mobile multimedia technologies.
Ericsson and Qualcomm (which bought the L-Band spectrum in the UK) commissioned an assessment of the net benefits of using the L-Band for a supplemental downlink (SDL) for the delivery of enhanced mobile multimedia and broadband services.
Source: CEPT

31. New frequency bands (2/4)
2.3 GHz band
Figure: 2300 MHz band allocations globally
The 2300 MHz band is already specified as a 3GPP band for both TD-SCDMA and LTE-TDD since LTE Release 8.
In some countries – Sweden is a case in point – the MHz band is considered as vacant, whereas in France it is used by the defence sector. It could be used for TD-LTE networks as there are already TD-LTE networks planned or launched around the world such as in Australia and India.
Source: Huawei
USA
Figure: The 2.3 GHz band in the USA
The Federal Communications Commission has adopted an order which enables mobile in 25 MHz of Wireless Communications Service (WCS) spectrum without causing harmful interference to the Satellite Digital Audio Radio Service (SDARS).
Source: FCC

32. New frequency bands (3/4)
GHz
The GHz range has been identified for IMT in ITU Radio Regulations since World Radiocommunication Conference At its last plenary meeting in December 2011, the ECC adopted Decision ECC/ DEC/(11)06 on harmonised frequency arrangements for mobile/fixed communications networks (MFCN) in the bands MHz and MHz.
Based on CEPT Report 15, an EC Decision 2008/411/EC includes the specification of the least restrictive technical conditions. This Decision is binding for EU Member States and has to be transposed in national regulatory frameworks.
An earlier ECC Recommendation, ECC (04)05, defined the ‘Block Edge Masks’ (BEM) which restrict emissions in this band. The ECC decided to develop harmonised frequency arrangements for the high data rate mobile/fixed communications networks (MFCN), including IMT, utilising large channel bandwidths.
The MHz band is currently allocated to WiMAX operators in most European countries but there is very limited deployment of these networks and use across Europe. CEPT studied frequency arrangements in TDD and FDD modes for the MHz band and LTE is likely to be introduced in most European countries in the long term.
In February 2012, UK Broadband, a subsidiary of the Hong Kong PCCW, switched on a TD-LTE network in London, using spectrum in the 3.5 GHz and 3.6 GHz bands where it owns 124 MHz of spectrum. This is the first TD-LTE 3.5 GHz deployment in the world and the first commercial 4G deployment in the UK. It will operate a wholesale model, enabling partners to offer commercial services to businesses, consumers and the public sector from May 2012 onwards.
Figure: Harmonised frequency arrangements for the GHz bands
Source: ECC

33. New frequency bands (4/4)
Potential new frequency bands for the long term in Europe
2 GHz TDD
The TDD bands in the 2 GHz band ( and MHz) are currently being studied by CEPT. These bands were allocated in most European countries in the early 2000’s but are almost totally unused today.
Some mobile operators are pressing for paired spectrum in the 2 GHz band. One proposal is to pair the 1900–1920 MHz band with MHz or 2090–2110 MHz to extend mobile broadband services. The fact that licences have been granted in almost all European countries with different dates and that the spectrum is used in a limited number of countries constitutes a series of hurdles for regulators.
2 GHz MSS
Almost no use by satellite stakeholders ( and MHz)
Possible re-allocation to terrestrial use
GHz
This band is currently used by aeronautical radars. This frequency band could be identified during the WRC-15 conference for IMT use (mobile broadband).
GHz
Limited use is made of this frequency band in Europe by satellite systems. Parts of this band could be identified during the WRC-15 conference for IMT use (mobile broadband).
GHz
Little use is made of this frequency band in Europe by satellite systems. Parts of it could be identified during the WRC-15 conference for IMT use (mobile broadband).

34. Carrier aggregation
Table: Frequency bands combinations for carrier aggregation
The 3GPP standardisation group is working on LTE-Advanced, as part of Release 10. LTE-Advanced will be both backwards- and forwards-compatible with LTE, meaning LTE devices will operate in newer LTE-Advanced networks, and LTE-Advanced devices will operate in older LTE networks. 3GPP is studying the use of wider bandwidth support for up to 100 MHz via aggregation of 20 MHz blocks. This will enable very high data rates of more than 100 Mbps for mobility and 1 Gbps for nomadic use.
It should be noted that carrier aggregation can only be realised for the same duplexing method, thus FDD with FDD and TDD with TDD.
Figure: Example of carrier aggregation
Source: Huawei
Source: 3GPP