Helping to Preserve the Broadcasting Spectrum
21 Helping to Preserve the Broadcasting Spectrum
The ITU convenes conferences (WRCs) every few years at which national governments agree to any changes necessary in the ITU’s Radio Regulations on radio frequency spectrum. The objective of the decisions does not define what individual countries should do inside their own borders, but rather to regulate any interference that one country may cause to another. However, in practice, this has a significant impact of what individual nations can do inside their borders.
A headline development at WRC 12 was the decision by Region 1 countries to take another slice of what are the frequency bands used for broadcasting and give them to mobile phone and associated services. At the previous conference, WRC-07, many countries in the Asian region secured for themselves use of a part of the UHF band for mobile applications.
and broadcasting services and their development would be impaired if further spectrum is lost.
What Needs to be Done At this juncture, some experts in Europe are debating whether or not terrestrial TV broadcasting will continue and, if so, in what form. To many broadcasters it is very clear that given the current spread of TV services all over the world, the dedicated audiences that they have, their well established business plans, investments and revenue streams, there is no doubt that the TV broadcasting has to continue in the present form in the foreseeable future. So it is important that a movement be generated by the broadcasters to ensure that they have sufficient spectrum for their on-going TV services and enough room for expansion of those services.
The value of terrestrial broadcasting, and the additional spectrum needs of broadcasters, require to be addressed
A Session from the Conference
Growing Pressure on UHF Band These developments reflect a continuing major policy challenge for broadcasters, one being debated throughout the world. The WRC conclusions are just one of a number of developments in the broadcasting world. Since the year 2000, the broadcasting spectrum, in particular the UHF TV spectrum, has come under increasing pressure to cede valuable spectrum for mobile. Some experts in the field observe that the national spectrum regulators are generally sympathetic to the demands and efforts of the mobile telephone network operators.
There is growing pressure across the world from mobile operators to take away the radio spectrum that has hitherto been assigned for analogue television broadcasting. Many experts believe that this has now reached a watershed
and resolved at a senior management level, both nationally and internationally. It would be very helpful if
• Senior managements within broadcasting organisations are briefed on the importance of the broadcasters taking up these issues with their respective national regulators.
• Senior managements among the broadcasters take up this matter to ensure this issue is addressed at the higher levels of Government.
The ABU places a lot of emphasis on spectrum matters. The Spectrum – WRC issues study group has been quite active on spectrum studies in the four-year preparatory period which resulted in ABU contributions to WRC-12 on 10 agenda items. The principal role of the ABU is to safeguard the frequency spectrum for the broadcasting industry and to bring forth the requirements of the broadcasters (as the members deem it) and work towards including these in the conference outcome.
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