European Commission, Mobile Industry Seek UHF Spectrum Allocation
More studies are needed on whether mobile applications can exist in the UHF band, the European Conference of Postal and Telecommunications Administrations (CEPT) said of its decision to recommend delay until 2011 of allocation of spectrum in the 470-862 MHz frequency. CEPT’s stance, which is the European Common Proposal for the upcoming World Radio Conference (WRC-07), conflicts with that of the European Commission. It angers the mobile sector, which fears that Europe will lose out if spectrum isn’t freed for innovative new services.
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CEPT bases its position on the view that members will be better positioned to make allocation decisions for the UHF band at the 2011 WRC, said Chris van Diepenbeek. He chairs the European Radiocommunications Office’s Electronic Communications Committee, which wrote the position. Members need more details on developments regarding and requirements for broadcasting and mobile in the band, and particularly on the best ways to harmonize them, he told us.
The EC wants to make the most of spectrum freed up by the switch from analog to digital broadcasting, it said in a July memorandum to the council and European Parliament. Use of the UHF band should not be “frozen” by the current allocation to broadcasters but assessed in the light of opportunities presented by new, efficient uses, it said.
Some member countries already are developing strategies for using the digital dividend, making it “urgent” to study potential European added value, the commission said. The council, parliament and Radio Spectrum Policy Group favor more UHF band flexibility to accommodate market demands and technology breakthroughs, it said. Additional spectrum for mobile services will be considered at WRC-07, so “a first step in the direction of more flexibility could be taken by upgrading the status of these services to the same status as broadcasting services at this conference,” it said.
Mobile providers are frustrated by CEPT’s stance. In late August, the European Telecommunications Network Operators’ Association, GSM Association, Next Generation Mobile Networks Alliance and UMTS Forum said postponing allocation of the UHF band to mobile services could hamper the development of European industry. CEPT’s proposal, they said, doesn’t jibe with those by the Americas, Asia and other regions, not to mention the commission’s.
The UHF band is needed for new mobile applications because it provides better quality of service and indoor coverage than do higher frequencies, an industry source said. The ITU works on a mid- to long-term view of spectrum allocation, so if spectrum isn’t set aside in November for mobile uses, allocation will be delayed at least four years, he said. If that happens, it could be 2019 before consumers have access to mobile services on the UHF band, he said. Mobile providers think CEPT’s proposal is the result of heavy lobbying by broadcasters, he said.
Without access to the lower frequency band, mobile operators will have to spend more to provide innovative services in the more difficult higher ranges, the industry source said. Mobile services providers want to resolve all compatibility issues, but CEPT’s electronic communications committee already has said broadcasting and mobile services can co-exist in the band, he said.
The issue is historical, Information Society and Media Commissioner Viviane Reding’s spokesman said. Broadcasters only used the entire UHF band for analog TV; the switch to digital TV will free spectrum for other uses, he said. Were UHF to be reassigned for mobile services, use -- or the “perceived ownership” of the band -- would pass from broadcasters to the telecom industry, he said. The commission’s view is that “spectrum is a scarce and common resource that must be reallocated across Europe according to market demands in a technology neutral and service neutral way,” he said.
From the U.S. perspective, the 700 MHz band is ideal for new advanced wireless services, said Richard Russell, U.S. Ambassador to WRC-07. Even administrations with no specific digital switch plan or one scheduled far later than in the U.S. can identify that range now for advanced wireless systems without harming their ability to continue to broadcast, he said.
The U.S. wants the UHF band tagged for advanced wireless uses because “we want as many people as possible building as many technologies as possible for this band because we are going to be using this band immediately,” Russell said. The U.S. is telling countries hoping to put off going digital that agreeing to the allocation now “doesn’t force you to move any more quickly to digital TV,” he said. By saying they will have advanced wireless systems in these bands someday, which virtually every country in the world agrees with, “you're going to have more technologies to choose from,” he said.
EU nations craft common positions to have the greatest possible impact on WRC votes, Reding’s spokesman said. The commission itself, with only observer status at the WRC, works backstage to coordinate radio spectrum decisions, he said. Its communiques, and any council responses, figure significantly in WRC discussions, he said. Even with a CEPT position on this issue, “the pledge to stick to it is only goodwill by the countries involved,” he said. On the UHF allocation issue, not all CEPT administrations will follow CEPT, and a minority actually back the commission, he said.
WRC-7 is October 22 to November 16 in Geneva. The European Broadcasting Union did not respond to a request for comment.