The Baltic Sea Summit on the Digital Dividend

Piotr

The digital dividend means the unprecedented amount of spectrum that will be freed up in the switchover from analogue to digital terrestrial TV. Allocating some of the digital dividend to mobile broadband will increase Internet penetration and provide opportunity for broadband development. Harmonisation of the spectrum on a regional basis is needed to develop Information Society and make mobile broadband affordable to consumers. It is focal to implement the Lisbon Strategy.

The declaration, adopted during the summit, makes it important to coordinate the cooperation within the states of the Baltic Sea and contributes to the development of the whole region.

The text of the declaration is provided below:

The representatives of Denmark, Estonia, Finland, Germany, Latvia, Lithuania, Poland, Russia and Sweden met at the Baltic Sea Summit on the Digital Dividend in Helsinki, Finland, 9 June 2009.

During the informal meeting, the following conclusions were made:

1) Broadband has a significant social and economic importance. Wireless technologies will play an important role in making broadband available to all.

2) The Digital Dividend represents a unique opportunity to increase spectrum efficiency in order to achieve greater connectivity for all and especially to lower the Digital Divide between urban and rural areas. Parts of the band are currently used by other radio services,  which are protected in accordance with existing international agreements. Reaping the full benefits from the Digital Dividend is feasible only by cooperation at international, European and bilateral level.

3) The Baltic Sea countries will work together in a collaborative fashion in order to achieve as high broadband penetration as possible, taking into account national market demand.