European Commission on delivering the digital dividend
02.11.200911:22
Piotr
The switchover from analogue to digital terrestrial TV will release 80% of high quality radio spectrum which will be free for the deployment of new services and new technologies. This means that they can be used for new, innovative services that use radio spectrum, from wireless internet and more advanced mobile phones to new interactive and high-definition TV channels. Remote regions could be big winners from this as wireless broadband could use the new spectrum to deliver high-speed internet to areas not yet reached by landlines. The Commission today set out plans for a coordinated distribution of spectrum that encourages investment and competition in these potential new services. If the allocation of the newly freed airwaves – the "digital dividend" – to new services is coordinated across Europe it could give the economy a boost of €20 to €50 billion (over 15 years compared to EU countries acting alone).
The digital dividend proposals adopted by the Commission ask the European Parliament and EU Member States to play a key part in the switchover. To do this, they set out how one part of the freed-up spectrum, namely the 790-862 MHz sub-band (the spectrum that travels far and through buildings), can be set aside to support the emergence of new wireless services (such as 3G and 4G mobile phone services) that allow video streaming, full web browsing and fast downloads on a mobile handset. This will contribute to achieving the target of high-speed broadband coverage of all the EU population by the end of 2013.
