Investigation of spectrum values in rural environments

Frequency bands above 1.5 GHz have traditionally been used for 3G and 4G mobile communication services and new frequency bands will be allocated for 5G services in the near future. In this paper, the spectrum value in rural environments is analyzed using an engineering-economic modeling. In order to evaluate the spectrum values, three metrics are selected: maximum cell radius, annual infrastructure cost per square kilometer, and spectrum value per MHz-POP. Frequency bands ranging from 1.5 GHz to 3 GHz and 3 GHz to 11 GHz, are evaluated. Keywords: Rural environment, Maximum cell radius, Infrastructure cost per square kilometer, Spectrum value per MHz-PO