Technology & Innovation

Europe's digital dividend

September 10, 2010

Europe

September 10, 2010

Europe
Anonymous Writer

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A Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer article, written in association with the Economist Intelligence Unit

The EU is making progress in harmonising digital dividend spectrum for mobile broadband usage, but operators may have to wait longer than they would like to get their hands on it.

Mobile operators invariably want more frequency airwaves (spectrum) to deliver voice and data services. That is because they do not feel they have enough existing capacity to serve customers adequately today – thanks to expanding smartphone adoption and burgeoning use of bandwidth-hungry data applications – or they anticipate customer demand will grow to such an extent they will need extra spectrum in the near future.

As spectrum is a finite resource, however, and various industry sectors have claims on it, governments and national regulatory authorities (NRAs) face tough decisions about who gets what and when. Regulators can rarely please everyone, and the mobile industry is no exception. In a recent survey of 391 mobile industry executives conducted by the Economist Intelligence Unit, more than a quarter of respondents said that shortage of available spectrum was one of the greatest risks facing mobile operators in mature markets over the next three years. The spectrum shortage looks even more severe elsewhere, with more than a third of survey respondents saying the same for operators in developing markets.

The so-called digital dividend, however, offers mobile operators the prospect of some spectrum relief. As broadcasters move from analogue to digital terrestrial TV, they free up spectrum (the digital dividend) that can potentially be used for purposes other than broadcasting.

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