U.K. to Define Spectrum-Reallocation Options in Year, Regulator Says
A roadmap to identify uses for spectrum recovered from analog TV cut-off has begun in the U.K., and will proceed aggressively to publish final proposals by this time next year so new services can prepare for the DTV switchover that begins in 2008, telecom regulator Ofcom said. Although new wireless and mobile services are the expected beneficiaries of the spectrum auction, at least some of the frequencies surrendered will be considered for terrestrial HDTV channels, as requested by the BBC and other broadcasters, Ofcom said.
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Under a program it called the Digital Dividend Review (DDR), input from industry and consumer groups will be solicited for best uses of the recovered spectrum, with the goal of completing hearings in the 3rd quarter of 2006 and publishing final proposals in the 4th quarter, Ofcom said: “Historically, all uses of spectrum were decided by the Government or Government Agency. This command-and- control approach allowed for minimal flexibility as technology and markets changed. Ofcom has adopted a market-led approach to spectrum to ensure that this valuable resource goes to the people and organizations who are most likely to use it to the full.”
Nearly half of the “most valuable” bands of spectrum below 1 GHz are now used for analog broadcasts by the U.K.’s 5 terrestrial TV channels -- BBC1, BBC2, ITV, Channels 4 and 5 -- and that spectrum is particularly suitable for low cost, wide-area coverage, Ofcom said. Because digital broadcasting is about 6 times more efficient than analog, more channels can be carried across fewer airwaves. The DTV switchover will therefore allow “a large amount of spectrum to be released for wholly new services,” Ofcom said. Those include, but not exclusively: (1) Mobile services with high quality video and interactive media delivered to handheld devices. (2) Wireless broadband services, with high-speed data and voice services. (3) Wider coverage for advanced services in remote and rural areas. (4) Advanced business and broadcasting services, such as those used to support major sporting events. Also eligible for the newly-free spectrum would be terrestrial HDTV channels, compared with the SD-resolution over-air DTV now available to 75% of U.K. homes and scheduled for complete switchover between 2008 and 2012.
Ofcom estimated the DTV switchover programme will release up to 112 MHz of spectrum in the UHF band for new uses. “The UHF band is prime spectrum, because it offers a technically valuable combination of capacity (bandwidth) and range,” the agency said. “It is much sought after for a whole range of services likely to be used by millions of people every day.” Another 208 MHz of so-called “interleaved spectrum” also is likely to become available. Ofcom defined that as unused spectrum where a frequency used by a transmitter in one part of the country is unoccupied outside the range of that transmitter in another part of the country.
In what promises to kick up a fuss, the newly-cleared frequencies might required changes “in licences held by a number of different organizations with the right to transmit in these frequencies. In some cases, new licences will need to be issued,” Ofcom said. “All the companies involved should be on notice that the allocations in this spectrum will be changing.” It and the U.K. govt. also will coordinate with other European nations to ensure changes in frequency allocations don’t cause interference elsewhere, Ofcom said.