The European Parliament and the Council have agreed on how to coordinate the use of the 700 MHz (694-790 MHz) band for mobile internet services as of 2020. They reached an informal agreement on the draft decision on spectrum management on Wednesday evening 14 December.
Demand in Europe for broadband wireless connectivity is growing and this is mainly down to mobile video consumption using smart phones and future 5G devices. This trend is expected to get even stronger over the next three years and create pressure on existing network capacity and demand for additional frequencies. According to the Commission, by 2020 there will be nearly eight times as much mobile internet traffic as today.
The co-legislators agreed on the Commission proposal (see EUROPE 11481) to use 700 MHz (694-790 MHz) for broadband as of 2020. Member states will have a two-year deadline in the event of “duly justified reasons”.
The agreement means that member states will adopt and make public their national plans for releasing this band by 30 June 2018 and conclude cross-border coordination agreements by the end of 2017. The informal agreement also stipulates that in the sub-700 MHz band (470-694 MHz), the long-term priority currently given to broadcasting use will last until 2030.
Patrizia Toia (S&D, Italy), the rapporteur for the European Parliament stated that “with this proposal, the European institutions guarantee fair and efficient spectrum use in the aim of meeting the needs of both mobile and broadcasting services. This proposal will provide operators with the possibility of rapidly introducing 5G”. Árpád Érsek, the Slovak Minister for Transport, Construction and Regional Development, described the agreement as a “win-win solution for the digital industry, audio-visual sector and all consumers”. The Minister also said it brought long-term regulatory certainty, which was essential for the adoption of 5G and better connectivity everywhere. Commission Vice President and Single Digital Market Commissioner, Andrus Ansip and Digital Economy Commissioner Gunther Oettinger also welcomed the agreement, before highlighting the fact that they now needed to complete the electronic communications code and 5G action plan.
The Slovak Presidency will submit the result of the negotiations to the member states for their approval on 20 December. Parliament will also need to approve the final agreement to ensure its adoption. (Original version in French by Sophie Petitjean)