The article describes the potential gain by spectrum sharing between cellular operators in terms of network efficiency. The focus of the study is on a specific resource sharing scenario: spectrum sharing between two operators in cellular downlink transmission. If frequency bands are allocated dynamically and exclusively to one operator - a case called orthogonal spectrum sharing - significant gains in terms of achievable throughput (spectrum sharing gains between 50 percent and 100 percent) and user satisfaction are reported for asymmetric scenarios at link and system level as well as from two hardware demonstrators. Additionally, if frequency bands are allocated simultaneously to two operators - a case called non-orthogonal spectrum sharing - further gains are reported. In order to achieve these, different enablers from hardware technologies and base station capabilities are required. However, we argue that all requirements are fulfilled in 3GPP and newer mobile standards. Therefore, the results and conclusions of this overview article encourage to seriously consider the inter-operator spectrum sharing technologies

In this paper, we focus on next-generation cellular networks and discuss physical resources sharing among the operators. This implies cooperative usage of the available radio frequencies and also infrastructure sharing. In particular, we analyze the spectrum sharing gain achievable at different time scales and the main factors impacting on it. Then, we move towards a wider idea of resource sharing and consider a joint spectrum and infrastructure sharing (full sharing). We describe a two-layer resource management architecture that enables operators to reduce costs while still guaranteeing a good service level. The main findings of our investigations are to quantify the effectiveness of resource sharing and open up new perspectives for the operators of next-generation networks

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