Brussels, 14/04/2015 (Agence Europe) - With the public consultation on the Lamy report on the management of the radio frequencies having closed on Sunday 12 April (see EUROPE 11228), the European Broadcasting Union (EBU) has reiterated its position on the use of the 450-790 MHz frequency band. The broadcasters are calling for long-term guarantees to ensure the continuity of terrestrial digital television (DTT) whilst having to share this frequency band with mobile telecommunications operators, and urge the European Commission to take account of their interests in the report it is to present to the forthcoming World Radiocommunication Conference (Geneva, 2-27 November 2015) and in the new strategy for the management of the radio-electric spectrum.
DTT will remain a vital distribution platform in the member states, offering high-quality services available to all users, thereby guaranteeing the universal service which the member states are obliged to offer their citizens. However, the viability of DTT is based on the UHF (ultra-high frequency) band, in other words the 700 MHz band, which allows it to develop sustainably, optimally and innovatively, the EBU stresses. “As the Commission is developing a long-term strategy for the future use of the UHF frequency band, we emphasise that this band is the only globally harmonised spectrum for DTT and is crucial for the provision of free-to-air TV services. It is vital that the EU strategy provides long-term certainty of spectrum access for DTT”, stresses Technical Director of the EBU, Simon Fell. The broadcasters are more specifically concerned by the provision of the Lamy report that states that the 700 MHz band (the 694-790 MHz band, which is currently used by terrestrial broadcasting networks (DTT) and wireless microphones) should be completely allocated to wireless broadband throughout Europe by 2020, with a flexibility of two years either way. The EBU argues that this deadline is far too close and fails to take account of the specific realities of the member states.
In a press release, the “Wider Spectrum Group”, which defends the interests of employers and employees in the audiovisual and radio sectors (EBU, AER, APWPT, Broadcast Networks Europe, European Federation of Journalists, UNI), calls more broadly for a spectrum policy which will underpin an ambitious industrial strategy for the cultural creative sector and the media in Europe. It calls on the European decision-makers to pay close attention to the repercussions which any change in the management of the spectrum would have on the sector. (Isabelle Lamberty)