Brussels, 28/04/2016 (Agence Europe) - The European Commission adopted a raft of harmonised technical conditions on Thursday 28 April that lay the groundwork for the allocation of more spectrum to mobile services in the 700 MHz band.
On 2 February, the Commission proposed that most of the 700 MHz band should be assigned to wireless broadband services in all EU countries by 30 June 2020 at the latest (see EUROPE 11481). To make that happen and prepare the transition, it has set out a series of technical conditions reducing the risk of cross-border interferences and harmonising the way these frequencies should be used across the EU to enable member states to meet the growing demand for wireless broadband. Digital Commissioner Gunther Oettinger said that “we cannot have high-quality mobile internet of everything and for everyone unless we have modern infrastructures and modern rules”. “With our proposal we show that we can have both”, he added.
Andrus Ansip, Commission Vice-President with responsibility for the Digital Single market, noted that “28 different approaches to manage radio frequencies in the EU do not make economic sense”. In his view “We need a better coordinated spectrum in the EU”. He said that a joint approach to the use of the 700 MHz band for mobile services “will give top-quality internet access to all Europeans, even in rural areas”. (Original version in French by Maëlle Didion)