In response to the release of the European Commission’s (EC) summary of the results of the Lamy Report public consultation, the GSMA has urged the EC to accelerate its review of sub-700MHz band to keep pace with the growth of mobile and broadcast markets.
The association also called on the EC to support requests from its member states to release spectrum in the 700MHz band – preferably between 2018 and 202 but potentially earlier for markets such as Finland, France, Germany and Sweden.
The association recommended that the flexible use of the UHF band will enable the EC to move closer to achieving its Digital Agenda objectives of providing high-quality mobile broadband to European citizens.
“The UHF band is a critical frequency range in the bid to provide consumers with good value, high-quality mobile broadband in urban and rural areas. As reflected in the divergent views in the High-Level Group discussion that took place last year, the future use of this band has been hotly debated by the mobile industry and the historic users of the band, including broadcasters,” said GSMA director general Anne Bouverot.
“The GSMA is calling for the EC to give Member States the flexibility to keep pace with the changing needs of consumers by supporting a co-primary mobile broadcasting allocation in the UHF band at the ITU’s upcoming World Radiocommunication Conference 2015 (WRC-15) in November, where the future possible uses of spectrum will be decided.”
