Brussels, 13/01/2014 (Agence Europe) - Pascal Lamy will head an advisory group set up by the European Commission to develop a common position with stakeholders on the future use of UHF (Ultra High-Frequency) for television and wireless broadband. Lamy said that he expected “these discussions to be quite challenging. Nobody will get everything they want, but I am confident that, based on an open discussion and a willingness to engage at the strategic level, we can deliver a coherent vision for Europe”. Neelie Kroes, the Commissioner responsible for the Digital Strategy, stated that “if we want to benefit from the latest TV and internet developments… we need a new consensus on how to use broadcast spectrum”. She added that Lamy knows the global scene and is the right man to tackle the situation. Lamy is the honorary president of the Notre Europe - Jacques Delors Institute, former director-general of the World Trade Organisation (WTO) and former the European Commissioner for trade.
In the face of a rapid and massive growth in demand for spectrum, the Commission would like to achieve some swift results on UHF (470-790 MHz) spectrum sharing. The high level group consists of senior figures in European radio broadcasting companies and networks, the mobile telephone sector and bodies in charge of technical questions. It aims to develop a number of proposals for the Commission on how to use the spectrum band over the next few decades. If the different interlocutors are to succeed in obtaining this goal they will need to agree on sharing the spectrum currently used for broadcasting, with operators in the high-speed mobiles and wireless microphones sectors and which have a lot of misgivings about opening up to high-speed wireless applications. The Commission believes, however, that this opening up is essential if they are going to be able to guarantee the provision of more high-speed and better quality televisual services. The Commission also believes that spectrum band sharing between broadcasters and new service operators is not incompatible if it is done in an intelligent and coordinated way. Kroes warned that if nothing is done, there is a risk that content transmission will be blocked because the current allocation of spectral band is incompatible with anticipated consumer patterns that are based on broadband and IPTV.
The Commission is asking the group to look at how Europe will access and use audiovisual content and data in the medium to long term and come up with options that respond to four separate challenges: 1) What will next generation (terrestrial) provision/reception of audiovisual content (including linear TV) look like? 2) How do we secure the public interest and consumer benefits while facilitating market transformation? 3) What are the strategic elements of spectrum use in the UHF band in light of the first challenge? What would the regulatory role of the EU be in coordinating developments? 4) What are the financial implications for a next-generation terrestrial platform for broadcasting and internet use?
So far, the debate between the stakeholders has been going round in circles and the gap between the European Union and its rivals, the US, Japan and South Korea, which are making swift progress in this field, is increasing all the time. Kroes explained that the high-level advisory group is a key component in identifying what future path they should take. She hopes that the recommendations from the group will enable the Commission to elaborate, in cooperation with the member states, a long-time strategic and regulatory policy on the use of UHF (470-790 MHz) spectrum as a whole, including the different possibilities for sharing spectrum band. (IL/trans.fl)