FAQ on EC's Proposal for New Uses for Radio Spectrum

November 2, 2009 // Published as a news service by IHS

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What is the digital dividend?
The "digital dividend" refers to the radio spectrum that becomes available as a result of the switchover of terrestrial TV transmission from analog to digital technology, which uses the spectrum more efficiently. Digital transmission allows the same television channels to be carried using five to six times less radio spectrum.

When will the radio spectrum freed by the digital switchover become available in Europe?
The digital dividend is already partially available, as five countries in the European Union (EU) - Finland, Germany, Luxemburg, the Netherlands and Sweden - have already switched off analog broadcasting and released the corresponding radio frequencies.

However, even in these EU member states, some of the frequencies are affected by interference from analog broadcasting transmissions from neighboring countries. These transmissions require high-power signals that can travel over hundreds of kilometers.

This means that the digital dividend can only be fully used when all EU countries switch off analog broadcasting and move to digital in a coordinated way and following harmonized technical requirements.

In view of the current economic downturn, it is also important to avoid any delay in achieving the complete switch-off of analog broadcasting in Europe; indeed, the analog switch-off should be accelerated.

How is radio spectrum managed? Is there some EU coordination?
Radio spectrum knows no borders. While the management of radio spectrum in Europe remains a national competence, spectrum coordination at the EU level is increasingly needed, as most new wireless applications are mass market services that require economies of scale and the benefits of free circulation in the Single Market.

EU spectrum policy was introduced as a formal EU policy in 2002 with the adoption of the "Radio Spectrum Decision." This decision already provides mechanisms for some coordination and collaboration between EU member states, including the possibility to adopt technical harmonization measures at the EU level (see IP/05/1199).

What is the EC now proposing concerning the digital dividend?
Conscious of the need to balance EU harmonization to secure the benefits of the Single Market with the need for flexibility at the national level (due to local specificities and the legacy situation regarding broadcasting), the EC is proposing actions in three priority categories to coordinate the use of the digital dividend and maximize its potential social and economic impact.

1. Urgent actions

• Accelerate the transition from analog to digital terrestrial TV in the EU and free all radio frequencies used by analog infrastructures by Jan. 1, 2012.
• Define, in the coming months, common technical harmonization conditions for the 790-862 MHz subband, in order to allow EU member states who wish to open up that subband for new uses, such as wireless broadband, to do so in a consistent way without fragmenting the Single Market. These harmonized conditions of use will be kept to the minimum to preserve technology and service flexibility for future users.

2. Strategic actions

• Decide, following a debate with the European Parliament and European Council, whether and when all EU member states should open the 790-862 MHz subband for uses other than high-power broadcasting.
• Adopt a common EU position, to be endorsed by the European Parliament and European Council, in future international negotiations on the digital dividend.
• Consider requiring all member states to apply a minimum level of spectrum efficiency for future uses of the digital dividend.

3. Actions addressing longer-term issues

• Allow further increases by using the "white spaces" - the unused spectrum between two TV coverage zones.
• Ensure the smooth migration to other spectrum bands of existing applications operating in the same ultra-high frequency spectrum as secondary uses, such as wireless microphones.
• Facilitate research in order to improve future equipment's capability to use the digital dividend spectrum.

Why does the EC think it's urgent to act on the digital dividend now?
There is a recurrent shortage of spectrum for new applications, especially for spectrum below 1 GHz, a spectrum that enables signal to travel relatively far and to penetrate buildings easily, allowing effective indoor use. The digital dividend is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to free up a significant amount of valuable spectrum for new applications.

Moreover, it is a timely stimulus to investments that could contribute to the EU's economic recovery. By failing to act now, the EU would miss out on the potential synergies; moreover, EU member states might regulate this spectrum in a dispersed way, to the detriment of the internal market.

Who will benefit from this new initiative?
European consumers will be the main beneficiaries. As a result of coordinated European decisions on the digital dividend, consumers should get better and cheaper access to wireless broadband services, enhanced TV broadcasting services, and a potentially wide range of new innovative wireless services, like 3G mobile phones.

European Internet users in rural areas stand to gain from more choice in the way they connect to the Internet. Most high-speed Internet users today have an ADSL subscription that runs on cables, like a fixed-phone connection. However, many remote or rural areas are not reached by the infrastructure in the ground that delivers broadband Internet, and extending the network can be costly. This makes wireless broadband using the radio spectrum one of the best prospects for bridging the digital divide where 30% of the EU's rural population does not have access to high-speed Internet (see IP/09/343).

Europe's technology industries will also benefit from the availability, under harmonized conditions in the Single Market, of a substantial amount of high-quality radio spectrum (spectrum over which signals can travel far and penetrate building walls).

What kind of new services can use the new radio spectrum?
Most new services will likely develop in the broadcasting and wireless broadband domains. They should facilitate access to high-speed broadband services in rural areas, accelerate the take-up of mobile broadband by the population and pave the way for more TV programs and high-definition TV. Depending on national decisions, public services, such as for public protection or security services, might also benefit from the new broadband platforms.

What is the potential economic impact of a better European coordination of the digital dividend spectrum?
The potential economic impact will depend on the actual demand for new services. A recent EC study estimates the potential benefit of EU coordination of the digital dividend spectrum to be €20 to €50 billion (spread over a 15-year period, as compared to EU countries acting alone). This estimate includes the value of unforeseeable new applications that could emerge in the future.

How far along is the EU in switching from analog to digital TV?
The following table shows the progress the EU has made in this regard.

Switch-Off Plans from Analog to Digital TV in the EU

What are the next steps?
The EC will define the harmonized technical conditions for the use of the 790-862 MHz subband for new services. An agreement with EU member states by early 2010 will allow those who wish to do so to make the subband available for new services on a national basis, without delay, along harmonized technical parameters that will avoid the risk of fragmentation in the Single Market.

The EC will also discuss its proposed strategic actions with the European Parliament and the European Council, aiming at a political agreement in 2010. The longer-term issues (defined above) will be further discussed with industry and consumer representatives in order to define ways for concrete action.

Further Information
For more information, see:

• The Oct. 28 recommendation and communication, which are available on the EC's web page, Delivering the digital dividend
• The EC's video, What is radio spectrum?
• IP/09/1595, European Commission wants airwaves freed-up by move to digital TV to work for swift economic recovery

Source: European Commission (EC).