Ofcom Starts Review Of Spectrum Used By Analog TV
LONDON -(Dow Jones)- Ofcom, the U.K. telecommunications and media regulator, Thursday launched a review of the spectrum used by analog television, prior to the completion of the switch over to digital television.
The U.K. government intends to complete the switch over to digital TV by 2012. The shift will free up a large amount of spectrum - the range of frequencies used to carry broadcast TV and mobile telecoms services - which can be used for other commercial applications such as mobile TV.
The "Digital Dividend Review" will look to exploit the cleared spectrum for wireless innovation. That can include new mobile services such as delivering high-quality video and interactive media to handheld devices; wireless broadband services; improving remote and rural coverage; advanced business and broadcasting services and additional TV channels, including high-definition channels.
Digital broadcasting is roughly six times more efficient than analog, allowing more channels to be carried over fewer airwaves. Spectrum is a finite resource and the five terrestrial TV stations that broadcast in analog use nearly half of the most valuable bands of spectrum below 1 gigahertz, Ofcom said.
Clearing the spectrum may lead to changes in the Wireless Telegraphy Act and Broadcasting Act licenses and may lead to new licenses being issued.
Ofcom said it will work with other European regulators to coordinate respective spectrum policies in order to avoid transmission interference across national borders. A conference will be held in May 2006 to plan the future use of spectrum across Europe and agree arrangements to share frequencies where signals cross borders.
Ofcom will review its spectrum policy over the next year and seeks input from parties with an interest in using the spectrum, as well as other government departments.
It expects to complete the review in the third quarter of 2006 and publish its final proposals in the fourth quarter. The digital switchover is due to begin in 2008.
Earlier this year, mobile telecoms company O2 PLC, Nokia and broadcast company Arqiva called for the U.K. regulator to hasten plans to auction the relevant spectrum.
The three companies are trialing a mobile broadcast service in Oxford, England, using a technology called DVB-H. Although the service is up and running, the companies can't launch the service commercially until the appropriate spectrum is available.
It isn't yet clear which companies will bid for the spectrum when it becomes available, given it could be used for a variety of applications.
Anthony De Larrinaga, a media analyst with S.G. Securities, said broadcasters including British Sky Broadcasting PLC, ITV PLC, and radio companies could be interested in buying spectrum depending on how it was made available and at what cost.
"It's partly a question of whether the spectrum will be set aside for different activities," he said. "Given that, left to market forces, the telcos would mop most of it up, it seems likely that this will be the case."
BT Group PLC has previously expressed an interest in acquiring additional spectrum.
Company Web site: http://www.ofcom.org.uk
-By Nic Fildes, Dow Jones Newswires; 44-20-7842-9264; nicolas.fildes@dowjones.com
(END) Dow Jones Newswires"
Posted to the site on 17th November 2005
