Hertz Battle Hurts Broadcasters

Michael Hedges March 31, 2010 - Follow on Twitter

Radio frequencies are, of course, where most broadcasters live. Other services occupy the spectrum space, too. Every stakeholder, new and old, has deep and abiding interest in promoting their need for digital space, spectrum being limited by physics.

And for keeping it all organized the International Telecommunications Union (ITU) regularly meets, consults and decides on all matters spectrum. The next big gathering of the ITU sponsored World Radiocommunications Conference (WRC) will be next year. In advance of it the European Commission has fixed its sights even more firmly on the digital benefit, the current flavor being more spectrum for mobile services. Broadcasters have an understandable concern over mobile operators voracious appetite for spectrum.

The European Commission (EC) fully supports mobile services development. When EC President José Manuel Barroso reorganized the new EC Executive, the Directorate General for the Information Society and Media (DG Infos) morphed into DG Digital Agenda.  EC-level media issues – if raised at all – are dispersed among several branches of the executive. Many of the same policy units formerly within DG Infos remain with DG Digital. The overall effect, however, is more emphasis on new media and negligible interest in the legacy media.

EC spectrum policy is studied by the Radio Spectrum Policy Group (RSPG) which, headlined by digital Agenda Commissioner Neelie Kroes, organized a summit of stakeholders (March 22, 23) for collecting digital dividend points of view.  The RSPG is comprised of Member States’ telecom regulators and spectrum experts within the EC.

In remarks to the Spectrum Summit, Commissioner Kroes’ impatience was clear, directing attention to “some industries that are less prepared or less used to regular innovation” and  “the slow pace of change in institutions such as the ITU.”

“In the future,” she said, “we may therefore have to be tougher in setting criteria for allocating new spectrum – so to ensure effective competition and be certain of the value an allocation will generate. It should also be clear that those who do hold spectrum rights – and those sectors or services for whom specific parts of the spectrum have been reserved – will have to use it fully and efficiently. If the potential of a spectrum allocation is not being exploited to its maximum, if the application is not the most efficient way of delivering social, cultural or economic benefits, then it should go to another application or service instead. We should not therefore be afraid, in duly justified case, to reallocate spectrum which is not fully or not efficiently used or which becomes available following technological developments. An efficient use of spectrum may also require that spectrum rights in many bands become tradeable across Europe.”

The EC will, she said, “propose that the Commission adopt a technical harmonization measure on the 800 MHz band, one part of the digital dividend frequencies. This will set the technical conditions to apply in any Member State that, following the Commission's guidance, decides to move away from using this sub-band for broadcasting, and will ensure a harmonized approach to the introduction of wireless broadband there.”

Broadcasters have not stuck their heads in the sand, awaiting calm. “EU spectrum policy needs to respect diversity; allow for different local, regional and national perspectives; guarantee quality of service; use spectrum efficiently,” said European Broadcasting Union (EBU) Technical Department director Lieven Vermaele in a statement ahead of the Spectrum Summit. “This must apply to both broadcast and broadband.” The EBU, which represents public service radio and television broadcasters, opposes changes in 800 MHz policy that would eliminate a specific broadcasting allocation. (See EBU statement here) The 800 MHz spectrum slice is the primary habitat of digital terrestrial television. 

“Commercially-funded radios need guaranteed access to spectrum, in all bands planned in the ITU negotiations,” said the Association of European Radio (AER) in a statement related to the Spectrum Summit. (See AER statement here) Europe’s commercial radio broadcasters fear being caught up in a digital tidal wave of rule makers looking for any spectrum anywhere that might be auctioned to telecoms. The currently used FM radio band is located in the middle of the VHF analogue television band, currently being vacated.

“Currently and for the foreseeable future,” continued the AER statement, “there is only one viable business model: free-to-air FM broadcasting.”  Commercial radio broadcasters are, AER points out, “mainly SMEs (small and medium enterprises), who can only broadcast programs free of charge to millions of European citizens, thanks to the revenues they collect by means of advertising.”

“Across Europe, nearly every single frequency is used in this bandwidth,” notes AER. “Thanks to the broad receiver penetration and the very high usage by the listeners this small bandwidth is very efficiently used. However, as consumers’ habits are changing, radios need to develop on digital platforms: on-air or internet-based commercially-funded digital radio has not yet achieved widespread take up across European territories. These two means of transmission will be part of the patchwork of transmission techniques for commercially-funded radios in the future, but it is hard to foresee when.”

On the other side of the debate, mobile telecoms and developers are equally fixed. GSM operators want a quarter – 100 MHz – of the digital dividend spectrum, the chunk vacated by switching analogue broadcast television to more efficient digital transmission. The (digital) “benefits include the possibility of harmonized frequencies, the balanced allocation of spectrum between the different service providers, and the avoidance of interference within the boundaries of the European Union,” says GSM World, trade body for mobile telecoms, on its website. “Overall, this would lead to faster, cheaper and better services with an increased possibility for content enhancement and interoperability of devices.”

Obviously, spectrum policy is fraught with complications. A directive on spectrum allocation from Commissioner Kroes, once approved by the European Parliament and the European Council, would be binding on all Member States. Differences between the EC and the ITU would be debated further.

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