Brussels, 19/11/2008 (Agence Europe) -Commissioner Viviane Reding, who has responsibility for the information society and media dossier, met the new President of the Radio Spectrum Policy Group (RSPG), Daniel Pataki, on Wednesday 19 November. Mr Pataki will fill this position until 5 November 2009. He is currently the President of the European Regulators Group (ERG) and of the Hungarian regulatory authority NHH, and will continue to carry out these duties until the end of December 2008. "Improving the management of the spectrum and efficiently using the digital dividend in order to make broadband available to all is one of the key priorities of the European Commission in the field of telecommunications policy. Better coordination between the Member States and the national spectrum authorities is of vital importance in fulfilling this objective, in order to maximise the effects of this on growth and employment", said Commissioner Reding. Mr Pataki, for his part, is well aware of the challenges which face him for 2009: "this will be a key year in spectrum policy (...). The RSPG will play an active role in carrying out its agenda and responding to the questions which need an answer today", he commented. Commissioner Reding said that she was particularly pleased with the priorities to be dealt with by the group chaired by Mr Pataki, especially the development of the roadmap to make the most of the spectrum: "if we want to extend our leadership (...), we have to take the right decisions", said the Commissioner. Four priorities are included on the agenda for 2009: 1) Reaping the benefits of the digital dividend: the RSPG will work with the Commission to draft a roadmap to make the most of the radio frequencies freed up by the transition from analogue to digital; 2) Generalised access to wireless broadband: the RSPG will help the Commission to develop an adequate strategy to deploy broadband in less-favoured and very remote regions; 3) Better use of the spectrum: the Member States, which are responsible for allocating frequency at national level, will be assisted in their duties by guidelines to be drafted by the RSPG and published in 2009; 4) Coordination of the bodies tasked with spectrum policy: the RSPG will ensure that the European bodies will work together with the national authorities in charge of spectrum policy and start to commit to broader cooperation on international level. The RSPG, which was created by a decision of the European Commission in 2002, includes members of the Commission and of the 27 Member States, who are tasked with advising the Commission on issues relating to the management of the spectrum. (I.L./trans.fl)