EC proposes 800MHz band for mobile broadband by 2013

The European Commission has proposed a five-year programme to increse the amount of radio frequencies available for wireless broadband. If approved by the European Parliament and Council, the legislation would reserve the 800MHz band across the EU for mobile broadband. The EC wants the so-called digital dividend band made available for wireless broadband by the start of 2013, although allows for some exceptions until 2015 in line with analogue broadcasting switch-offs. At the same time, the legislation would require member states to complete by 2012 the licensing of the other harmonised bands for wireless broadband in the EU (900/1800 MHz, 2.5 GHz and 3.4-3.8 GHz). In an attempt to further coordinate spectrum policy EU-wide, the law would also promote collective use of spectrum and spectrum trading, encourage convergence of authorisation conditions and procedures for bands tradable across Europe, and request member states to maintain competition between operators and to avoid spectrum hoarding. The commission proposes to set up an inventory of existing spectrum uses, technologies and applications to track inefficiencies and cope with future requirements. The EC also wants better coordination between spectrum harmonisation and standardisation bodies (eg the European Conference of Postal and Telecommunications Administrations and the Commission's Joint Research Centre) to assure that services and wireless devices can be used seamlessly across borders. Products which rely on spectrum (like medical appliances and devices, wireless product identification tags and entertainment applications such as mobile TV or electronic books) would be based on the same technical standards and use the same spectrum band throughout the EU. Furthermore, the proposal includes principles to boost the EU's role in multilateral negotiations at the ITU and WRC.