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1.1 Ofcom expects all 3G licensees to meet the requirements for rollout as stated in their licences by the end of 2007.

1.2 It is important that stakeholders understand the technical basis for any measurement of rollout. Ofcom has taken the following steps to develop the methodology it will use to assess whether the 3G license obligation has been met by each operator:

1.2.1 Ofcom published a consultation document, dated 28 July 2006, which set out proposals for a technical approach to assess levels of compliance.

1.2.2 The responses to the consultation were taken into account and a detailed methodology was published on 27 February 2007.

1.2.3 To assess the effectiveness of the methodology Ofcom undertook a benchmarking procedure using a 100km x100km area in the South West of the UK.

1.3 Ofcom would like to thank all the 3G licensees for their input into the benchmarking exercise.

1.4 The benchmarking exercise used information supplied by the 3G licensees and the results of drive tests carried out by our contractor Red-M. The conclusion was that the propagation model ITU-R P.1546-2 under-predicts the actual coverage area. Ofcom believes that such a non-zero mean error between measurement and prediction should be expected when the specific characteristics of a digital cellular mobile network operating at frequencies in excess of 2 GHz are considered.

1.5 The results of the drive tests were used to generate a correction factor for ITU-R P.1546-2, so that the model results were aligned to match actual measurements. This correction has been verified using Hit Rate analysis. The 3G operators have also compared the results with their own propagation models and found a close match, as can be seen in the consultants’ report.

1.6 Ofcom believes that choosing a freely available, internationally recognised propagation model is important and ITU-R P.1546-2 is the most suitable model to choose. To align the coverage prediction with the results obtained in the benchmarking exercise, an additional factor of 8dB will be added to the results obtained using ITU-R P.1546-2. All other settings and assumptions published in the 27 February 2007 statement will remain unchanged.

1.7 Details of the drive test methodology and results can be found in the reports from Red-M.

• Field Measurements to Assist Ofcom to Verify the Approach to the Assessment of 3G Operator Rollout [pdf]
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• Field Measurement Results for Ofcom 3G Rollout Assessment [pdf]
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