The cellular telephone industry is looking enviously at C-band frequencies for terrestrial use. A major international conference in Nigeria heard from Eutelsat’s CEO Michael de Rosen argue passionately that terrestrial operators should leave C-band exclusively for satellite transmission. “Opening the C-band to mobile operators would not herald the expansion of its use for new services. […]
UK regulator Ofcom is calling on the UK telecoms industry to help lay the foundations for the UK’s next generation of wireless communications, and is seeking views on spectrum bands above 6 GHz that might be suitable for future mobile communication services. So-called ‘5G’ mobile communications are expected to be able to use very high […]
The European Commission is launching a public consultation on how to use the Ultra High Frequency (UHF) spectrum (the 700 MHz) band) most effectively in the coming decades. The Commission is seeking views on the options proposed by Pascal Lamy, in September 2014 At the moment, the 700 MHz band is mostly used for broadcasting […]
Following the release of draft opinions by the Radio Spectrum Policy Group (RSPG) on the future of the UHF band in the EU and on the Common Policy Objectives for WRC (World Radio Conference), Broadcast Network Europe (BNE) – trade organisation for Terrestrial Broadcast Network Operators for Radio and TV in Europe – is continuing […]
Digital UK – the company that manages the development and strategy of DTT and supports viewers – has welcomed UK regulator Ofcom’s stated intention to oppose the idea of allowing mobile services to move into more frequencies currently used by terrestrial TV (co-primary allocation). Ofcom has published an update on its preparations for the World […]
France’s comms regulator ARCEP is holding a two-month consultation on a strategic review of spectrum for ultra high-speed mobile systems. As mobile Internet traffic is increasing sharply, the consultation examines the two paths that will help sustain and accelerate the ongoing upgrade of mobile networks: reusing existing frequencies with more efficient technologies; making new frequencies […]
French Prime Minister Manuel Valls has fixed the 700 MHz auction for December 2015, with the transfer from DTT channels to the mobile telecoms sector scheduled to take place between October 1st 2017 and June 30th 2019. The French State anticipates the revenues coming from this auction will reach €2.1 billion, all attributed to the […]
The current FCC spectrum auction is still climbing ever-upward. The past two days has seen another series of bids entered, and Thursday afternoon saw Round 55 take place, and add $43 million to the already record-breaking total, and taking the amount of cash on the table to a breathtaking $41.17 billion. There were 56 new […]
The Electronic Communications Committee (ECC), the expert group responsible for harmonising the efficient use of the radio spectrum across Europe, has agreed a draft Decision for the harmonised use of the 700 MHz range (694-790 MHz) for wireless broadband in Europe which is now subject to public consultation. The draft Decision provides a common technical […]
The post-Thanksgiving auctions for the Federal Communications Commission’s Advanced Wireless Services (AWS-3) spectrum continues this week, and has reached Round 41 with a staggering $39.3 billion on the table. The process had halted on Round 37 just before the US holiday, with $38.1 billion having been bid. Intriguingly the number of active bids had increased […]