Under the French presidency, which expires at the end of 2008, most member states were opposed the European Commission's proposals presented last year. The national governments were particularly against initiatives which would transfer competences on radiofrequency management and market regulation from national to EU level.
Read the full details at: https://www.policytracker.com/headlines/it2019s-the-czechs-turn-to-broker-a-telecoms-framework-deal
The five Commissioners had been planning to vote on controversial proposals to provide free Wireless Internet services nationwide using the AWS-3 spectrum block.
Read the full details at: https://www.policytracker.com/headlines/fcc-delays-aws-3-decision-after-political-pressure
Accusations being made by amateur radio operators of major interference being caused to their reception by devices being distributed by BT are greatly exaggerated according to the telecoms operator.
Read the full details at: https://www.policytracker.com/headlines/radio-amateurs-say-powerline-interference-has-already-arrived
Germany's Federal Ministry of Economics will publish a revised version of its plan to allocate broadcasting frequencies to mobile services early next year. According to a spokesman, this will probably be in February. "However, it will also have to be approved by the federal states (Länder), and that will probably take another two months," he said.
Read the full details at: https://www.policytracker.com/headlines/german-government-moves-to-open-up-uhf-to-new-services-1
New and emerging techniques involve improving on existing 3D audio/visual experiences and substantially increasing image resolution for HDTV programs to augment depth of field cues for viewers.
Read the full details at: https://www.policytracker.com/headlines/itu-examines-delivering-3dtv-via-terrestrial-and-satellite
European Union member states meeting in the EU Telecoms Council November 27 voted against any new EU coordination mechanisms or harmonisation of radio spectrum, though they said they were ready to be more flexible in the way they manage radiofrequencies, in order to respond to other needs such as mobile services.
Read the full details at: https://www.policytracker.com/headlines/member-states-reject-mandatory-liberalisation-and-further-eu-harmonisation
Last month PolicyTracker tried to benchmark the number of spectrum trades in Europe against the results in other countries where the secondary market is longer established.
Read the full details at: https://www.policytracker.com/headlines/architect-of-uk-spectrum-liberalisation-disappointed-by-number-of-trades
With the FCC having set a precedent in allowing use of the white space between TV broadcasts to be used for wireless broadband, the focus now switches to the UK where Ofcom is the first European regulator addressing the issue.
Read the full details at: https://www.policytracker.com/headlines/whitespace-europes-attention-turns-to-the-uk
Although Sweden and the United Kingdom criticised the "lack of ambition" regarding liberalisation of spectrum management in the EU, they did not block a majority vote by the EU governments on a reform of European telecommunication rules which aims to increase competition and consumer protection.
Read the full details at: https://www.policytracker.com/headlines/framework-review-agreement-greeted-with-disappointment-and-hope
We explain the thinking behind the compromise drawn up by the French Presidency and outline the Commission's concerns. Viviane Reding sees so little prospect of achieving a useful compromise she is hoping the RSPG will drive progress on spectrum policy, especially the digital dividend.
Read the full details at: https://www.policytracker.com/headlines/december-2008-printed-issue-available-for-download
Read the full details at:
http://www.policytracker.com/alerts.php?sact=840
European Union member state telecommunication ministers are expected to agree on the future regulation of electronic communications in the EU (telecoms package), and specifically on radiofrequencies management, when they meet in Brussels this week. However, they will not go as far as the European Commission had hoped.
Read the full details at: https://www.policytracker.com/headlines/eu-member-states-set-to-water-down-telecom-package
Under the current Directive the band is restricted to 2G GSM services. This means mobile operators are not allowed to deploy 3G services in 900Mhz, even though its superior propagation properties mean this would offer considerable savings by reducing the number of base stations.
Read the full details at: https://www.policytracker.com/headlines/new-initiative-on-stalled-gsm-directive
2009 is going to be a year of unprecedented importance for spectrum policy, according to Commissioner Reding and Dániel Pataki, newly elected Chairman of the Radio Spectrum Policy Group. They used a rare press conference specifically on spectrum policy to make a dramatic call for action over the digital dividend as well as issuing a joint statement saying spectrum was a policy area in which Europe "needed more ambition."
Read the full details at: https://www.policytracker.com/headlines/commission-despairs-of-telecoms-review-looks-to-rspg
To mark the fourth anniversary of the introduction of spectrum trading in Europe PolicyTracker has been trying to benchmark the success of the policy.
Read the full details at: https://www.policytracker.com/headlines/license-trades-show-modest-levels-in-australia
There has been a generally positive reaction in the IT and telecoms sector to two key decisions at the election day meeting of the US Federal Communications Commission which will bring wireless broadband to many rural areas for the first time and provide added competition elsewhere.
Read the full details at: https://www.policytracker.com/headlines/long-awaited-fcc-decisions-transform-u.s.-wireless-landscape
Furthermore, in Italy the greater part of the band (2520-2655 MHz) is used by the military. AGCOM asks respondents to assess the level of civil and military demand and suggest, in the light of these conflicting claims and the European initiatives for the band, how best it should be allocated and managed.
Read the full details at: https://www.policytracker.com/consultations/the-use-of-frequency-band-2.6-ghz-for-electronic-communications-services
The new air interface adopted by the ITU last year was for the time-division duplexing (TDD) version of WiMAX, and the WiMAX lobby is worried they will have to jump through the same hoops all over again.
Read the full details at: https://www.policytracker.com/headlines/wimax-camp-fears-another-standards-battle
For the past month fifteen cars have been driving around the UK with spectrum monitoring equipment in their roof boxes. It's part of a project funded by the regulator Ofcom which will "investigate the usefulness and cost effectiveness of car-based automatic measurement systems" and build up a picture of spectrum usage in the 100 MHz to 5GHz range.
Read the full details at: https://www.policytracker.com/headlines/countrywide-spectrum-survey-highlights-possible-unlawful-usage
As the country voted in a new President, the FCC commissioners engaged in their own vote and ignored the protest campaign orchestrated by the National Association of Broadcasters which had aimed at postponing it.
Read the full details at: https://www.policytracker.com/headlines/historic-decision-approves-white-space-use-in-the-us
The job of obtaining an overview of recently adopted practices used by countries moving towards more liberalized spectrum markets is complicated by different approaches and an absence of compiled statistics. Another complicating factor is the practice of using shell or holding companies to transfer spectrum, a common practice in the U.S..
Read the full details at: https://www.policytracker.com/headlines/which-country-has-the-most-spectrum-trades
Also in this issue we interview the Commission's new head of spectrum policy and analyse the vigorous debate over the introduction of administered incentive pricing for the UK's aviation and maritime sectors
Read the full details at: https://www.policytracker.com/headlines/november-2008-printed-issue-available-for-download
America's broadcasters have mounted a massive media campaign aimed at preventing any decision on use of the vacant white space between TV broadcasts at a board meeting of regulator the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) on November 4.
Read the full details at: https://www.policytracker.com/headlines/us-broadcasters-rally-the-stars-over-whitespace-row
Read the full details at: https://www.policytracker.com/consultations/ero-frequency-information-system-efis
Read the full details at: https://www.policytracker.com/consultations/harmonised-use-of-airborne-gsm-systems-in-1710-1785-and-1805-1880-mhz
Read the full details at:
http://www.policytracker.com/alerts.php?sact=825
Read the full details at:
http://www.policytracker.com/alerts.php?sact=824
Pearse O'Donohue took over as head of the unit in mid-June from Ruprecht Niepold, who is now an advisor to the DG INFSO director general Fabio Colasanti. "Our major policy challenges are going to be the digital dividend, which has a high political profile, but also a number of dossiers that deal with non-electronic communications services use of spectrum, such as transport," he says. These issues are all due to be brought together as regulators work with the European Parliament and Council to develop a comprehensive policy framework. "We will be devoting time to all this over the next six months or so in order to give the new Commission and Parliament a clear plan for the major strategic issues in the third quarter of next year," he says. Elections for the new Parliament take place in June 2009.
Read the full details at:
http://www.policytracker.com/alerts.php?sact=823
The European Commission has modified its legislative proposals setting out a review of the European Union's telecommunications framework, having taken on board some but not all of the European Parliament's first reading position voted on in late September.
Read the full details at: https://www.policytracker.com/headlines/plans-for-political-input-into-eu-spectrum-policy-cut-back
In a report entitled "France Numérique 2012", which contains 154 proposals designed to boost the country's "digital economy", the government says that the spectrum will be allocated in an auction due to take place by the end of 2009. This should ensure that France does not lose ground compared to Sweden and the UK, the report says. The government will give spectrum regulator the Agence Nationale des Fréquences (ANFR) a mandate to negotiate with France's neighbours to put the sub-band in place and begin discussions on whether part of the money raised from the auction can be re-invested in measures that support the country's digital economy.
Read the full details at: https://www.policytracker.com/headlines/french-government-unveils-digital-dividend-plan
Steven Carter, the former head of the regulator, Ofcom was made a government minister in the recent reshuffle and will be in charge of developing the plan. His task is to make proposals for government and the commercial sector which will stimulate "innovation, investment and quality in the digital and communications industries." These are already worth £52 billion a year for the UK economy.
Read the full details at:
http://www.policytracker.com/alerts.php?sact=820
Ofcom has produced a preliminary set of proposals aimed at charging for the use of VHF communications channels, possibly as early as next year, and for a number of other bands (see table below) from 2010.
Read the full details at:
http://www.policytracker.com/alerts.php?sact=819
The draft study by WIK-Consult, Aegis Systems Limited, IDATE and Plum Consulting was unveiled at a 1 October Brussels public workshop on optimising public sector use of spectrum. The Commission is seeking advice on several issues, said WIK-Consult Department Manager J. Scott Marcus: How to find an appropriate balance between spectrum allocated for public, commercial and private activities; how the public sector in member states can adopt a more long-term, proactive approach to their use of spectrum; and how public bodies can improve public procurement of radio equipment and services. The consulting team was also asked to explore the possibility of new technological approaches to help public agencies use spectrum more efficiently. The report focuses on the defence, transport and emergency sectors.
Read the full details at:
http://www.policytracker.com/alerts.php?sact=818
Spectrum in Ireland is currently governed by the 1926 Wireless Telegraphy Act. "It's an old act, but the fact that it has lasted this long shows it is robust," says Jim Connolly, senior spectrum advisor at Irish regulator ComReg. "The main issue is that it deals with licensing the use of radio equipment. To allow spectrum trading, its focus has to be broadened to address rights of use of spectrum."
Read the full details at: https://www.policytracker.com/headlines/ireland-awaits-spectrum-trading-legislation
The European regulators group, CEPT, has agreed a new rule of procedure for negotiating European Common Proposals during world conferences and has proposed enhanced communication with the former Soviet states represented in the Regional Commonwealth in the Field of Communications (RCC) grouping.
Read the full details at:
http://www.policytracker.com/alerts.php?sact=816
The amount of spectrum assigned to non-broadcasting use as part of the digital dividend in Ireland could be in the region of 80 MHz to 120 MHz, according to a report commissioned by the Irish regulator ComReg.
Read the full details at:
http://www.policytracker.com/alerts.php?sact=815
Under the 2003 Communications Act the main duties of the regulator are to "further the interests of citizens…[and]…consumers…where appropriate by promoting competition."
Read the full details at: https://www.policytracker.com/headlines/ofcom-researches-environmental-obligations
The more liberal aspects have been diluted but the European Commission has praised the Parliament's commitment to flexibility and harmonisation.
Read the full details at: https://www.policytracker.com/headlines/october-2008-printed-issue-available-for-download
Two important meetings took place in Washington DC on Friday September 25, one of them concerning a controversial $700 billion bail out plan for the financial industry, the other a controversial spectrum auction with a proposed $750 million reserve price.
Read the full details at:
http://www.policytracker.com/alerts.php?sact=812
After 10 months of discussion the MEPs revisions essentially amount to a dilution of the more radical aspects of the Commission's proposals while recognising that further liberalisation of existing spectrum management practices will bring benefits.
Read the full details at:
http://www.policytracker.com/alerts.php?sact=811
The FCC's attempt to investigate the possible use of TV whitespace to provide wireless broadband services is making little progress in the face of determined opposition from broadcasters.
Read the full details at: https://www.policytracker.com/headlines/whitespace-investigation-stalls-amid-recriminations
Read the full details at:
http://www.policytracker.com/alerts.php?sact=809
Read the full details at:
http://www.policytracker.com/alerts.php?sact=808
The European Parliament 24 September is due to vote, in first reading, on the vast review of telecommunications regulation put forward by the European Commission in November 2007, with attention focusing in particular on the funding of the future Body of European Regulators in Telecoms (BERT). If the Parliament holds to the position it has decided on so far, the funding will be mixed.
Read the full details at:
http://www.policytracker.com/alerts.php?sact=807
Ireland's Commission for Communications Regulation (ComReg) has published its spectrum strategy for 2008 to 2010. ComReg published a draft version of the document for consultation in March this year and received 24 responses, most of which were "generally positive and constructive", the regulator says.
Read the full details at: https://www.policytracker.com/headlines/irish-regulator-publishes-spectrum-strategy
Following the success and/or failure – depending on which of a number of conflicting viewpoints you subscribe to -- of the 700MHz auction earlier this year, the show continues with controversy, a court case, and more polarised opinions around the upcoming (perhaps) auction of the so-called AWS-3 band (AWS stands for Advanced Wireless Services).
Read the full details at:
http://www.policytracker.com/alerts.php?sact=805
The proposal is scheduled to be debated at a full commission meeting on September 25, when we will publish more details.
Read the full details at: https://www.policytracker.com/headlines/fcc-chairman-issues-new-d-block-proposals
Climate change "has become a critical issue" since the 2000 UK 3G auctions and should be part of the regulatory analysis of upcoming spectrum auctions, Nokia's James Page argues in an article, <a href=http://www.landmobile.co.uk/articles/2008/0608-jamespage.pdf>The Carbon Element</a>, published in a personal capacity in Land Mobile magazine. But the UK Office of Communications (Ofcom) has not yet assessed the carbon impact of different uses for digital dividend spectrum, and it is unclear whether it even has the authority to define the public interest in environmental matters, he said.
Read the full details at:
http://www.policytracker.com/alerts.php?sact=803
European Union lawmakers, the EU Council and the European Commission had a last chance to publicly debate the EU telecommunications review, at a debate in the European Parliament on September 2. Further negotiations will be held in camera. The French Presidency of the EU wants to finalise a political agreement on the whole package on 27 November.
Read the full details at: https://www.policytracker.com/headlines/member-states-set-to-reduce-meps-ambitions
The Ministry of Defence (MoD) unveiled its spectrum liberalisation proposal in May, launching a comment period that runs until by 5 September.
Read the full details at: https://www.policytracker.com/headlines/more-detail-needed-on-frequency-release-ofcom-tells-ministry-of-defence
This is the best way of ensuring the whole country has access to advanced broadband Internet services in the future, the report says.
Read the full details at: https://www.policytracker.com/headlines/french-digital-dividend-commission-issues-recommendations
Over the coming decades 50 billion machines are expected to use the airwaves to communicate with each other, a development anticipated by this month's EC decision to harmonise a band for intelligent transport systems.
Read the full details at:
http://www.policytracker.com/alerts.php?sact=799
Operators and service providers have been positioning themselves for the day they can offer what services they want, using what technologies they want, but there is no indications of when changes to telecoms regulations outlined in the Electronic Communications Act of 2005 will come into effect.
Read the full details at:
http://www.policytracker.com/alerts.php?sact=797
Read the full details at:
http://www.policytracker.com/alerts.php?sact=796
Partly funded by the European Commission, Public Safety Communication Europe Forum (PSC Europe) offers the public safety and security services a venue in which to discuss communications needs, said Motorola Belgium Director Jeppe Jepsen, who chairs the organisation's Spectrum Harmonisation Initiative. Public safety spectrum users still lack a strong voice in Europe despite the 1996 establishment of the pan-European Terrestrial Trunked Radio (TETRA) network that linked all emergency services on the same frequency, he said.
Read the full details at:
http://www.policytracker.com/alerts.php?sact=795
The selection procedure is based on a European Commission decision proposed in August 2007 which came into force in July this year following agreement from the European Parliament and Council.
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http://www.policytracker.com/alerts.php?sact=794
The auction of what was once known as the 3G expansion band but is also a target band for WiMAX is the subject of legal action by T-Mobile and 02.
Read the full details at:
http://www.policytracker.com/alerts.php?sact=793
Although machine to machine (M2M) communications has been around for some time it is only in the past few years that technology has evolved enough for M2M to start becoming widespread.
Read the full details at:
http://www.policytracker.com/alerts.php?sact=792
There is growing interest around the world in the potential availability of spectrum, in particular in the "sweetspot" of the radio spectrum between 300 MHz and 3 GHz. This spectrum range could be available to provide a range of innovative new applications and services such as private mobile radio, mobile TV and HDTV, IMT advanced LTE, WiMAX and other wireless broadband access services.
Read the full details at:
http://www.policytracker.com/alerts.php?sact=791
According to a spokesperson for the Information Society Directorate, existing services in the band vary between member states and are mainly fixed satellite services, radiolocation services, and some fixed-lint and short-range communications such as amateur radio.
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http://www.policytracker.com/alerts.php?sact=790
Roberto Ercole, the GSM Association's (GSMA) Director of Spectrum Regulation told <i>PolicyTracker</i>, in a interview that the own-initiative report by Italian Liberal MEP Patrizia Toia "recognises the principle that there should be a digital dividend and that the frequencies [freed up] should be made available for non-broadcasting services". The GSMA represents more than 750 operators worldwide.
Read the full details at:
http://www.policytracker.com/alerts.php?sact=789
The Federal Strategic Spectrum Plan (FSSP) grew out of the Bush Administration's 2003 initiative on Spectrum Management for the 21st Century. Federal agencies were directed to identify their spectrum requirements for future technologies or services, describe how they intend to use the new technologies or services, and suggest spectrum-efficient ways to meet those requirements.
Read the full details at:
http://www.policytracker.com/alerts.php?sact=788
Read the full details at: https://www.policytracker.com/consultations/introducing-administrative-incentive-pricing-for-the-maritime-and-aeronautical-sectors
Read the full details at:
http://www.policytracker.com/alerts.php?sact=786
After MEPs vote to give themselves considerably more power over spectrum policy, we examine what their proposals would mean in practice and assess the implications for decision-making in Europe.
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http://www.policytracker.com/alerts.php?sact=785
For the first time Ofcom is hoping to find out in practice if the most important spectrum bands in the UK are actually being used in the way the telecoms regulator thinks they are being used.
Read the full details at:
http://www.policytracker.com/alerts.php?sact=784
MEP's recent amendments to the review of the Framework Directive reined in proposed Commission powers to harmonise spectrum bands but encouraged EU countries to do this voluntarily.
Read the full details at:
http://www.policytracker.com/alerts.php?sact=783
Regulator Industry Canada said 282 licenses had been provisionally assigned to 15 companies in the Advanced Wireless Service (AWS) auction in the 2GHz band. The auction of 105MHz of spectrum, 40MHz of which was exclusively for new entrants, generated almost C$4.3 billion (€2.7 billion), or more than four times what the government had expected.
Read the full details at: https://www.policytracker.com/headlines/keenly-contested-canadian-aws-auction-brings-in-20ac2.7-billion
1) Lifting restrictions on the technology and services that can be provided in the GSM bands (i.e. 900 MHz and 1800 MHz).
2) Making 30% more spectrum available in the 900 MHz band to encourage more competition
3) ComReg is also setting out three options for the award of new licences when the current licences expire in 2011 and 2015.
Read the full details at:
http://www.policytracker.com/alerts.php?sact=781
The study follows on from the November 2007 Commission Communication which called for freed-up bands to be split into three clusters of similar services to prevent interference. The Communication said broadcasting should go in the lower bands; medium to low power unidirectional services, like mobile TV, should go in a higher sub-band; with two way services like mobile and fixed broadband going in the highest band.
Read the full details at:
http://www.policytracker.com/alerts.php?sact=780
After winning approval for WiMAX technology as the 6th ITU International Mobile Telecommunication radio interface and a favourable EC decision on 2.6 GHz, the WiMAX Forum is working to expand the interface capabilities in existing and future ITU-R standards.
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This month's vote by the European Parliament's Industry Committee which would allow MEPs to scrutinise the details of spectrum policy seems an example of the law of unintended consequences.
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The European Commission will be pleased to see that the aspect of the Committee's draft proposals which concerned them the most – the abolition of the Radio Spectrum Decision – does not appear in the final text agreed in Strasbourg on July 7. However, there are other measures which will give MEPs considerably more power over spectrum policy. Overall the parliament has shown itself to be in the middle of the EU spectrum policy debate: more forward-thinking than the ministers in the European Council but not as radical as the Commission.
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The 1999 Radio & Telecommunications Terminal Equipment directive has been the bridge between increasingly flexible spectrum regulation and bringing compliant new equipment into the market officials said. The R&TTE is more open and flexible than past practices in allowing self-declaration that a system conforms to requirements. Political discussions on a revision to the directive are expected after publication of a progress report this autumn. Concrete proposals could emerge in mid-2009.
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The MEPs are expected to find a compromise on the main elements of the reforms, thanks to pre-negotiation between the political groups. "I think we have now a common view on the essential points," said Catherine Trautmann, a French socialist MEP in a conference organised by the Committee of Regions on 2 July. Ms Trautmann is in charge of the report on network access and authorisation issues.
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The Radio Spectrum Policy Group's work on collective use of spectrum (CUS) responds to a May 2007 request by the European Commission for an opinion on aspects of a European approach to CUS.
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The specification introduces the latest modulation and coding techniques to boost DVB-T capacity by 30 to 50 percent for delivering audio, video and data services to fixed, portable and mobile devices, the Digital Video Broadcasting (DVB) Project said. Broadcasters and regulators have pushed DVB-T2 forward for more efficient spectrum use and for the flexibility of using it as soon as it's ready. "The technology is ready," said Philip Laven, newly elected chairman of the DVB steering board, the body that approved the DVB-T2 spec.
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The European Parliament's Industry Committee has adopted a report calling for the reallocation to mobile and other services--such as public safety services, RFID, and road safety applications--of around 100 megahertz of frequency freed up by the switchover from analogue to digital terrestrial TV. Lawmakers called for this to be done by the end of 2012, and said the exercise should "not stop broadcasting services from flourishing".
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Spectrum policy was once considered a rarefied and technical backwater patrolled only by specialist engineers. However its importance in public affairs has recently become more widely recognised, not just because it stimulates economic development, but also because spectrum is the foundation for a significant amount of national GDP in of most countries. This fact has not escaped MEPs who have been concerned for over a year about their lack of power it his area.
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The council meeting also confirmed that member states have rejected the Commission's proposals for a pan-European telecoms regulator.
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A statement from the Commission said: "The Commission adopted on 13 June, in line with the rules of the EU's regulatory framework for electronic communications of 2002, a decision on the harmonisation of the 2500-2690 MHz frequency band for terrestrial systems capable of providing electronic communications services in the Community.
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ComReg's initial view is that this should be a 10 year licence, with an annual fee of €650,000; released via a "single sealed bid first price auction" with a reserve price of €100,000; and technical conditions following the GE-06 Plan4 entries and the GE-06 spectrum mask5.
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In March the rest of the 700MHz spectrum went for a record price of more than US$19 billion, but D Block failed to get close to its reserve of $1.3 billion</a> with the sole bidder, Qualcomm, making a single bid for $472 million.
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The June 12 meeting of the EU telecoms ministers formally asked the Commission to start the work which will lead to comprehensive policy proposals for a European approach to the digital dividend.
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EU telecoms ministers during their meeting on 12 June in Luxembourg clearly rejected the idea of having an overarching European authority for telecoms, even if they have yet to fully formulate their own proposals, which they need to do by November.
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Practical use of the so-called interleaved or white-space spectrum between digital broadcasts in Europe has come a step closer following the delivery of a report on the issue by a CEPT study group.
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On the agenda for today's meeting in Luxembourg is the legislative reform of the EU telecoms package and especially the creation of a new European body which will gather national regulators. What is sure is that almost all member states are opposed to the creation of a super European regulator as proposed by the European Commission last November. They are now discussing an alternative, based on the current European Regulators Group (ERG), which today gathers the 27 national regulators and advises the Commission.
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Regulator Ofcom and mobile operators T-Mobile and O2 are keeping pretty quiet about the reasons behind the telcos' legal challenge to the proposed 2.6GHz auction, but the little they have had to say is quite revealing.
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The Ministry of Defence plan, launched on 30 May, envisions that the Ministry of Defence (MoD) will first apply for recognised spectrum access (RSA) in the 406.1 - 430MHz and possibly the 3400 - 3600MHz band from UK spectrum regulator Ofcom as a precursor to early consideration of options for release and sharing. The MoD expects to complete its audit of the 23 bands identified by the Cave audit for potential sharing by March 2009, and is considering a review of its remaining 186 bands (<i>PolicyTracker</i> 2.6.08 <A href="javascript:showStory(548,1)" class='newslink'>UK military proposes 'leading edge' spectrum release plan</a>).
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Tomorrow's Wireless World: Ofcom's Technology Research Programme 2007/2008 is the regulator's third review of its technology agenda. As it did last year, Ofcom predicted no breakthroughs in communications technology within the next 10 years, and, hence, no need to set spectrum aside for an "innovation reserve" or to make major regulatory changes.
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Digitalisation and changing consumer behaviour are causing terrestrial broadcasters and mobile telecommunication operators to search for new business models and opportunities. Both want to provide new, breakthrough applications and devices. Broadcasters would like to offer interactive/data applications on mobile terminals, which would require a (mobile) return channel. Mobile telecom operators would like to enable high value services with minimum infrastructure investment. And both are competing for approximately the same group of customers - all of whom want these applications anytime, anywhere on low cost devices.
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Digitalisation and changing consumer behaviour are causing terrestrial broadcasters and mobile telecommunication operators to search for new business models and opportunities. Both want to provide new, breakthrough applications and devices. Broadcasters would like to offer interactive/data applications on mobile terminals, which would require a (mobile) return channel. Mobile telecom operators would like to enable high value services with minimum infrastructure investment. And both are competing for approximately the same group of customers - all of whom want these applications anytime, anywhere on low cost devices.
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Do the winning bids from Intel and Qualcomm indicate that the manufacturing sector will soon become major players in the European spectrum market? How did Ofcom's first use of its technology neutral SUR licences fare? In Sweden why was there such a big discrepancy between spectrum intended for 3G and spectrum intended for wireless broadband?
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The Ministry of Defence's eagerly awaited plan was launched on 30 May and is now open to consultation. It follows on from the 2005 Cave audit of spectrum holdings, which proposed that public sector spectrum be made available to other organisations, including industry.
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http://www.policytracker.com/alerts.php?sact=745
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These plans are the MOD's response to key recommendations in the 2005 Independent Audit of Spectrum Holdings led by Professor Martin Cave.
The MOD is proposing to apply for recognised spectrum access licences (RSA) for parts of the band 406.1 to 430 MHz and possibly 3400 to 3600 MHz to allow spectrum release and sharing from March 2009. RSA allows public bodies to trade spectrum.
The 3100 to 3400 MHz band is not included in the MOD's immediate plans for RSA because this is an essential NATO band and heavily used in the UK. However, the document proposes releasing and sharing a number of other bands before 2012.
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The vote took place in the wake of intense negotiations over the proposals between the Parliament, EU member states and the European Commission. Under the proposals, applicants in what is known as the "2GHz frequency" will have to offer coverage of at least 60 percent of EU territory from the launch of the project. They must further commit themselves to covering, after seven years at the latest, at least 50 percent of the population and 60 percent of each member state's land area.
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Spectrum Usage Rights or SURs are the UK take on liberalized licensing. They are tradable and designed to allow operators to use any technology provided it does not cause interference to other users. They work by ensuring that adjacent receivers do not suffer interference, particularly if a neighbour changes the use of their licence.
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Although this consultants report was by commissioned by Ericsson, Nokia, Orange, Telefónica and Vodafone its authors, Spectrum Value Partners, emphasise that it is an independent analysis. Spectrum say they work for both the broadcasting and telecoms sector, so it is in their interest to be objective. The consultants describe it as the "first comprehensive economic analysis of the costs and benefits of allocating different quantities of UHF spectrum for mobile broadband and broadcast use throughout Europe."
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The result is notable in that none of the other companies involved acquired any spectrum at all. The seven losing bidders were Adolphus, Arqiva, ePortal Holding K.S.C., MLL Telecom, The Joint Radio Company,Vectone Network and WorldSpace UK.
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The Australian Communications and Media Authority (ACMA) commissioned the "Independent Review of Government Spectrum Holdings" report to assist it to find an appropriate balance between government use of the radiofrequency spectrum and its use by the broader business community.
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Looking at the results of the Norwegian 2.6GHz auction in November 2007 PolicyTracker calculated that if the Swedish spectrum were sold at the same rate, then the total proceeds would be about €56M. In fact the Swedish 2.6GHz auction raised €226.
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The European Parliament and the EU Council of ministers are keen to see a smooth reform of EU telecommunications rules to be adopted in late 2009 and the co-legislating EU institutions seem to be on the same track when it comes to the main issues of this new "telecoms package" proposed by the European Commission last November.
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These are technology and service neutral licences but are most likely to be used for mobile telephony or wireless broadband. The auction was conducted by the regulator PTS and the winners have to pay PTS an administrative charge of 25,000 Swedish Krona (SEK) per MHz.
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Today (May 7) sees the launch of a 120-day consultation process, which ETSI is calling a public inquiry. While the inquiry is going on vendors will be able to make equipment for the European market based on the provisional standard which had to be adopted before the consultation could take place.
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As Europe's regulators and a group of consultants commissioned by Brussels try to find ways of improving public sector spectrum efficiency we examine the likelihood of frequency release and look at the progress made in the Netherlands.
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It is often said that spectrum is a scarce resource. New applications mean that the commercial sector wants more spectrum, hence the attraction of the many bands currently used by the military and other public sector users. However, if it were only a matter of the commercial sector needing greater access to the airwaves the issues involved would be much simpler.
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Perhaps the best known reform of public sector spectrum has been carried out in the the UK. Its rationale was quite simple - to apply market-based mechanisms as far as possible. This began with requiring bodies like the military to pay for the spectrum they used, the price being based on an estimate by the regulator. Public bodies are being allowed to sell off any bands they don't use, creating an economic incentive for spectrum efficiency.
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The expansion of Middle Eastern mobile operators into new markets became commonplace in the late 1990s and, in 2007, showed no signs of abating. Massive deals were still spurred by booming stock markets allowing, most recently, the likes of Saudi Telecom to expand regionally – and into the CEPT's sphere – with the proposed purchase of a slice of the Oger empire and with it Turkish mobile assets.
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In much of the rest of Europe there have been extensive consultations on what to do with the prime spectrum which will be freed up when analogue broadcasting signals are switched off, and in the US most of this spectrum has now been auctioned.
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The pressure on public sector spectrum users is mounting. The Radio Spectrum Policy Group (RSPG) has begun the process of drawing up recommendations on best practice among the emergency services, military and transport sectors. And a group of consultants commissioned by Brussels are a couple of months into a parallel study on improving efficiency in the sector.
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The claim comes in a <a href=http://www.dividende-numerique.fr/rapport.php>report</a> on the commission's work, published to coincide with the launch of a <a href="http://www.dividende-numerique.fr/">new public consultation</a> on how France's digital dividend should be used. The consultation lasts until 5 May 2008.
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If spectrum can be bought or sold, then international trade could be liberalized or "bound" in the WTO. Binding a country's level of market liberalization in the WTO is often seen as stimulating the stable marketplace needed for investment. Many countries have slightly tougher ownership rules for spectrum than for ownership for a company because historically, spectrum has been used for broadcasting of information and possibly propaganda. Some countries for example, have strict rules on who can own a radio station. A number of countries retain the rules, which affect broadcasting, but more broadly they apply to wireless stations. Spectrum is much more closely monitored than wireline. If the WTO got more involved in spectrum, then logically it would need to take into account the trend towards spectrum trading, a telecom official said.
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The Internet giant has already lodged a detailed submission with the Federal Communications Commission (FCC), calling for the "white space" between television broadcast signals to be used to provide wireless Internet access.
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During the second half of March and the first few days of April this year, there was nothing but very good news for the two European companies which dominate the mobile communications on aircraft (MCA) sector.
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The European Parliament wants to find a balance between liberalisation of broadcasting frequencies and public interests such as cultural diversity and maintaining media pluralism. But at a public hearing organised in Brussels on March 27 broadcasters and mobile telephone operators continued to put forward contrasting views over the issue of the 'digital dividend', or the use of frequencies freed up by the switchover from analogue to digital television.
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Why would Vodafone, the mobile industry's most enthusiastic liberaliser, be happy for HDTV spectrum to be reserved for broadcasters? After all, HDTV requires three times as much highly valuable UHF spectrum as standard definition TV.
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We also consider whether the US 700MHz auction has met its objectives; analyse the results of Ofcom's fourth spectrum auction and look at the proposal under consideration at the ITU to create a globally harmonised pilot channel for cognitive radio.
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After 65 days and 261 rounds of bidding the 700MHZ auction raised a record US$19.592 billion for 1090 licenses, or nearly twice the $10 billion reserve price set by the Federal Communications Commission (FCC).
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The European Parliament has expressed disquiet about the way the European Commission proposes to make frequency management more flexible to answer the needs of new technologies such as broadband and mobile services, although the Parliament supports the idea behind the move.
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After 65 days and 261 rounds of bidding the auction has provisionally raised a record US$19.592 billion for 1090 licenses. Most of the bidding for the important blocks of spectrum, and especially the C-Block which was available either as a single national licence or a handful of regional licences, ended at an early stage in proceedings. Bidding on small licences dragged proceedings out, but the auction rules stipulated the names of winning bidders would not be announced until after the auction closed.
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WRC-11 agenda item 1.19 calls on ITU-R "to study whether there is a need for regulatory measures related to the application of cognitive radio system technologies," and "to study whether there is a need for regulatory measures related to the application of software-defined radio." The WRC-11 may act on recommendations resulting from the studies.
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The discussions on CEPT's future began in May 2007 with an external consultants report. It pointed up the growing economic importance of spectrum and the gradual decline of the command and control approach, arguing that although CEPT's technical competence was widely recognised there may be a need for more economic expertise.
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While people are used to regularly changing their mobile phones, the same cannot be said of TV viewers. Some mobile networks offer free upgrades every 18 months, but people often wait for as long as a decade before buying new TV equipment. The result is that the latest, most spectrally efficient technologies enter the mobile market much quicker than the TV market.
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This month's "circular letter" from the ITU Radiocommunications Bureau (ITU-R) is an invitation to standardization bodies and ITU-R member governments and businesses to propose new radio interfaces for next generation IMT technology. IMT is the ITU global standard for mobile wireless communications. The circular letter on IMT-Advanced, "Request for submission of candidate Radio Interface Technologies (RITs) for IMT-Advanced radio air interface and subsequent evaluation of the candidate RITs," was expected in February, but publication was pushed back.
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The European Commission will make its first detailed proposal on how to use the digital dividend at the end of this year, according to principal administrator Philippe Lefebvre.
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The licenses being sold were in the higher frequency 10GHz to 40GHz band which the UK regulator describes as being "suitable for high-capacity wireless services."
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"Policy changes regarding the spectrum challenge the broadcasters' capacity to invest in original European programming," warned the European Broadcasting Union (EBU), which commissioned the report, authored by Oliver & Ohlbaum Associates and DotEcon.
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In this issue we also consider whether the 700MHz auction will meet the FCC's objectives; the commercial deployment of UWB; and criticism of Ofcom's plans for terrestrial HDTV.
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A wide range of commercial and regulatory pressures is expected to converge as radios begin to "think" for themselves in frequencies now used for established services and the ITU is starting to study how this might affect the Radio Regulations.
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A month into America's spectrum sale of the century it's still rolling along but the fate of all the important national and regional licenses up for sale, is already decided. However because of the rules of the 700MHz auction the names of winning bidders will not be made public until all bidding activity has ceased on all of the 1,099 licenses on offer.
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The UK regulator intends to introduce recognised spectrum access (RSA) to allow public bodies to share, trade and release spectrum, and the military is preparing plans to begin releasing some of its holdings to the market this year. A system for sharing public spectrum could provide a template for the private sector as well, but major challenges remain, industry sources said.
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The UWB standard EN382065 has received final approval from the Radio Spectrum Committee and is in the process of being published by European standards body ETSI.
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It's the third spectrum auction to be held by the Commission for Communications Regulation (ComReg) since it was set up in 2002. The frequency ranges 24.773 – 25.277 GHz paired with 25.781 – 26.285 GHz have been divided into 18 lots of 2 x 28 MHz.
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