WRC confirms opening of 700 MHz band to mobile in EMEA

News Wireless Global 23 NOV 2015
WRC confirms opening of 700 MHz band to mobile in EMEA

The ITU World Radiocommunication Conference has confirmed the use of the 700 MHz band for mobile services in Europe, Africa, the Middle East and Central Asia. The decision to designate the 694-790 MHz frequency band, previously used for broadcast services, was already taken for the other major ITU regions, the Americas and Asia-Pacific, at the WRC in 2007. The ITU said the provisions adopted by WRC-15 provide full protection to TV broadcasting, as well as to aeronautical radio navigation systems operating in this frequency band. The UN agency noted that the decision to harmonise the 700 MHz band worldwide should also help speed up the development of compatible mobile hardware. 

The European Union has earlier called for the 700 MHz band to be released for mobile services by 2020. Several member states, including Germany and France, have already auctioned or are preparing plans to license the band to mobile operators. While the mobile industry is also lobbying for lower, sub-700 MHz bands to be released for mobile, it had faced opposition from the European broadcasting industry, which still uses some of the spectrum for regional channels. 

Categories:

Mobile

Companies:

ITU

Regions:

Global

Tags:

Government telecommunications licensing, Wireless, Wholesale, 4G - LTE

Related Articles

EUROPE 5 FEB 2016

ETNO, GSMA welcome EC decision on 700 MHz band

ETNO, the association representing Europe's main telecom operators, and mobile operators' trade body GSMA have released a joint statement welcoming the European Commission's proposals for opening up the 700 MHz band and lower frequencies to mobile services, above all the proposal to make the 694-790 MHz frequencies available by 30 June 2020. The associations also welcomed the inclusion of the principles of service and technology neutrality, which they described as crucial to the development of mobile broadb

NIGERIA 29 DEC 2015

Nigerian 700 MHz band could become more widely distributed

The National Broadcasting Commission has sold the 700 MHz spectrum to MTN Nigeria for NGN 34 billion but industry stakeholders want the spectrum to be properly and equally distributed among telecoms operators as in other regions, This Day reported. The National Association of Telecoms Subscribers (NATCOMS) said the Nigerian Communications Commission should allot the spectrum to all the operators, instead of allowing the NBC to sell to a particular operator.

GLOBAL 1 DEC 2015

DSA welcomes WRC-15 sub-700 MHz spectrum decision

The Dynamic Spectrum Alliance (DSA), a global industry group that lobbies for efficient use of spectrum, has welcomed the decision made at the International Telecommunication Union's (ITU's) World Radiocommunication Conference (WRC-15) to maintain the ITU's primary allocation of the lower UHF spectrum from 470 MHz to 694 MHz to terrestrial broadcasting (TV) services until at least 2023. DSA executive director Professor H. Nwana described the decision as "sensible", adding that it would allow "large swathes

GLOBAL 30 NOV 2015

WRC-15 concludes, industry groups welcome results

The International Telecommunication Union's (ITU) World Radiocommunication Conference 2015 (WRC-15) concluded its deliberations on 27 November in Geneva, with some 3,300 participants, representing 162 out of the ITU's 193 member states, having attended the four-week conference. Another 500 or so participants, representing 130 other entities including industry, also attended as observers. Industry bodies such as the GSMA welcomed the global harmonisation of three new spectrum bands for mobile services, with

EUROPE 27 NOV 2015

WRC maintains sub-700 MHz spectrum for broadcasting in EMEA

The World Radiocommunication Conference in Geneva has decided against opening up more sub-700 MHz band spectrum to mobile services. The European Broadcasting Union (EBU) welcomed the decision to leave the UHF spectrum exclusively allocated to terrestrial TV services in ITU Region 1, which covers Europe, Africa, the Middle East and Central Asia. Delegates to the WRC reached this conclusion after deliberations over whether the lower UHF frequency band (470-694 MHz) should be retained for broadcasting only or

GLOBAL 23 NOV 2015

ITU maakt weg vrij voor internet in 700 MHz band

De ITU World Radio communication Conference (WRC-15) heeft bevestigd dat de 700 MHz-band wordt bestemd voor mobiele communicatie in Europa, Afrika, het Midden-Oosten en Centraal Azië. Het 694 MHz -790 MHz gebied werd gebruikt voor omroepdoeleinden. In de andere grote ITU-regio's, namelijk Noord- en Zuid-Amerika en Azië-Pacific, is al in 2007 besloten om er de meer algemene bestemming telecommunicatie aan te hangen. WRC-15 meldt dat er voorzieningen zijn getroffen om bestaand gebruik te beschermen voor tv en

GLOBAL 18 NOV 2015

GSMA lobbies WRC for opening up sub-700 MHz band to mobile

The mobile industry group GSMA continues to push for the allocation of more sub-700MHz band spectrum for mobile services. In a statement on the ongoing World Radiocommunication Conference in Geneva, the GSMA called on governments to support  co-primary designation for the 470-694MHz band. This would allow the frequencies to be used still for digital broadcasting as well as open them up to possible use for mobile services. Citing the example of the Asia-Pacific region, which already has a co-primary designat

GLOBAL 17 NOV 2015

WRC-15 allocates 79 GHz band to automotive radar

The International Telecommunication Union (ITU) has announced the allocation in the 79 GHz frequency band of radio-frequency spectrum needed for the operation of short-range high-resolution automotive radar. The decision was reached at the World Radiocommunication Conference (WRC-15) in Geneva and paves the way for the deployment of anti-collision radar devices globally, which the ITU said will significantly improve vehicular safety and reduce traffic accidents.

FRANCE 17 NOV 2015

French 700 MHz auction raises EUR 2.8 billion

France's 700 MHz auction ended on the second day, at a price of EUR 466 per 5 GHz block. Orange France and Free each bought two blocks. Numericable-SFR and Bouygues Telecom took one each. The six blocks sold for a total EUR 2.8 billion, or EUR 300 million more than the reserve price. 

GLOBAL 2 NOV 2015

WRC-15 needs to secure future of mobile internet - GSMA

The GSMA urged governments to take advantage of what it described as a "unique opportunity" to ensure the world has enough spectrum to foster a robust mobile economy over the coming decade at the World Radiocommunication Conference 2015 (WRC-15). In a statement released to coincide with the start of the meeting, hosted by the International Telecommunication Union (ITU) and due to continue until 27 November, the GSMA said each country has a role to play by identifying additional globally harmonised spectrum

GLOBAL 2 NOV 2015

EBU calls on WRC to defend DTT spectrum rights

The European Broadcasting Union (EBU) has called on the forthcoming United Nations World Radiocommunication Conference (WRC-15) to ensure that any final agreement on spectrum reflects the reality of how content is consumed. In advance of WRC, the EBU issued a statement saying it firmly believes that future mobile data traffic growth can be addressed without compromising the future of DTT (Digital Terrestrial Television), particularly as recent data shows that the majority of mobile content is consumed using

EUROPE 21 SEP 2015

GSMA backs Europe position on L, C bands for mobile

The GSMA has largely welcomed the position prepared by Europe for the upcoming World Radiocommunication Conference in Geneva in October. The mobile industry group supports the decision by the European Conference of Postal and Telecommunications Administrations (CEPT) at its latest meeting in Norway to expand mobile broadband access to spectrum in the 1,500 MHz and 3.4-3.8 GHz bands. Specifically the CEPT supports identification of L-band spectrum, between 1,427 and 1,518 MHz, for mobile broadband. Europe's

GERMANY 19 JUN 2015

German spectrum auction raises over EUR 5 billion

The German multi-band spectrum auction has concluded after 16 days of bidding with total proceeds of EUR 5.081 billion, the Bundesnetzagentur announced. Vodafone Germany spent the most, at EUR 2.09 billion, followed by Deutsche Telekom with total bids of EUR 1.97 billion and Telefonica Deutschland at EUR 1.20 billion. Each operator obtained 2x10 MHz in the 700 MHz, with prices driven up the last days of bidding by Vodafone. In the 900 MHz band, Vodafone and O2 each obtained two blocks of 2x5MHz, while Deuts

EUROPE 12 JUN 2015

GSMA calls for early release of 700 MHz spectrum

The GSMA has reiterated its call for the timely release of the 700 MHz band for providing high-quality mobile broadband to European citizens. In response to the European Commission's publication of the results of a public consultation held on the Lamy report, the GSMA urged the EC to accelerate the review of the sub-700 MHz band due to the rapid evolution of the mobile and broadcast markets, as demonstrated by ongoing 5G research programmes in Europe. The association also called on the EC to support member

EUROPE 10 JUN 2015

EC publishes results of 700 MHz band consultation

The European Commission has published the results of the public consultation held on the Lamy report concerning the future use of the Ultra High Frequency (UHF) 700 MHz spectrum band. The key recommendation of the report was that the 700 MHz band currently used for terrestrial TV services and wireless microphones should be reserved for mobile broadband services in the EU from 2020. The EC said it had received a total of 356 contributions and that the majority of the 96 organisations that had expressed their

Just In

19 DEC 16:42

SLT-Mobitel launches 5G network in Sri Lanka

19 DEC 16:19

Dialog Axiata launches 5G network, connects 1.5 million subscribers

19 DEC 15:56

UK govt to ban AI-enabled nudification apps to protect women, girls

19 DEC 15:42

3 UK launches last-minute Christmas sale

Commentary

13:56

Video market set for slower growth ahead

11:38

Netflix buys Warner Bros to deepen content catalogue

11:11

KPN's mixed performance in Q3 raises questions for strategy day

15:26

Stock markets breaking records but what happened to Odido's IPO plans?

Background

01:04

The week in telecom: Wi-Fi bolt-ons take off to boost broadband growth, video market works on consolidation

01:39

The week in telecom: Netflix wins bidding for Warner Bros, Apple poaches new execs, Samsung debuts trifold

13:51

Proximus vs. Telenet: Proximus performs better in Q3 while Telenet uses up cash

14:16

Proximus Domestic still struggling with low margins

Complete profile

Before downloading the whitepaper, we would like to ask you to complete your profile with company and position. After confirming you will receive the white paper.