Advantages and disadvantages of the introduction of IMT systems at 800 MHz band

Spectrum demands are dramatically increasing in most developed markets, due to the soaring demand for mobile broadband access. Furthermore, the ability to cover larger areas with the same power levels and the need for providing broadband access to digital divide areas is currently one of the major issues in the field of wireless communications. To cope with market needs, and for exploiting the newly available bands after the Digital Switchover process, the last World Radiocommunication Conference (WRC-07) allocated on a co-primary basis the upper part of the UHF band to mobile services as from 2015. Moreover, the Directive 2009/114/EC opened the 900 MHz band to IMT systems. The aim of this paper is to provide an analysis on the consequences of the possible allocation of the 800 MHz band to IMT system, currently occupied by broadcasting services. The theoretical results provided in this work are compared to simulations outcomes performed both on real and ideal scenarios.