EU Considers Mandating 800Mhz for Mobile Broadband Services

Published on: 1st Jan 1970: 1:33am

The European Commission is preparing to announce a plan that would mandate the use of the 800Mhz radio spectrum (790-862 MHz) for wireless broadband services through out the European Union. The spectrum is being largely released by countries that switch to digital television, and governments are currently free to reuse it as they wish.

The European Commission has already adopted an earlier proposal establishing harmonised technical rules on the allocation of radio frequencies in the 800 MHz band. That proposal didn't however require the national governments to make the radio spectrum available for mobile services.

The latest proposal, a copy of which was obtained by the International Herald Tribune, is part of a package of broadband changes drafted by Neelie Kroes, the E.U. commissioner for telecommunications, that would require the European countries to set aside the 800 megahertz frequency band for mobile broadband by 2013.

The commission is set to take up the plan Wednesday, and will tentatively announce it Sept. 20.

The radio spectrum is ideal for mobile services as it enables coverage of rural areas with fewer base stations, while also offering deeper penetration through buildings in urban areas. Telecoms industry experts estimate that infrastructure to provide mobile broadband coverage using the 800 MHz band will be around 70% cheaper than through using the radio frequencies currently used by 3G networks.

"The lobbying on this has been intense," Ilsa Godlovitch, director for regulatory affairs at the European Competitive Telecommunications Association told the newspaper "Mrs. Kroes has done a good job of producing what in the end had to be a compromise."

On the web: International Herald Tribune

 

Tags: [european commission]  [eu,800mhz]  [digital dividend]  [coverage]  [wireless]