European broadcasters and mobile operators sparred Thursday over ...
European broadcasters and mobile operators sparred Thursday over use of spectrum freed by the digital switch, a spokeswoman for the European Parliament Industry Committee said. If the European Commission (EC) assigns part of the upper frequency bands now used…
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in broadcast to bidirectional telecom services, French-speaking Belgians will lose 40 percent of their broadcast capacity, RTBF Administrator- General Jean-Paul Philippot, of the European Broadcasting Union, told MEPs at a mini-hearing on the digital dividend. Tim Hewitt, WiMAX Forum director of regulatory and spectrum policy, said demand for spectrum for mobile broadband will be high. Simon Wilson, chairman of GSM Europe’s frequencies working group, backed the EC plan to give some released spectrum to GSM service providers, the spokeswoman said. French MEP Catherine Trautmann, who will write the panel’s official report on EC proposals to change the electronic communications regulatory framework, sees the situation as a “gold rush towards premium frequencies,” the spokeswoman said. Trautmann said the problem isn’t just about “golden frequencies but about the use of frequencies in general,” the spokeswoman said. Italian MEP Patrizia Toia, who’s drafting a parliamentary report on the digital switch, said the EU needs a strong policy to withstand competition from the U.S. and Japan, the spokeswoman said. Toia’s report is to get a committee vote in June, and plenary consideration in July, the spokeswoman said.