The European Union has only six months to get its act together on frequency allocation, the ‘lifeblood’ of telecoms, without which mobile internet cannot develop. Jean-Claude Juncker’s Commission, which has made ‘spectrum’ one of its priorities for the future single digital market, currently has several irons in the fire.
It is trying to obtain at least "a little something" from the legislative negotiations underway on the telecoms package. For now, member states have decided to exclude the matter of frequency…
Background
Currently, only the allocation of the 800 Mhz bandwidth is harmonised at EU level in order to avoid interferences at borders. On the other hand, the European Commission has had difficulties imposing the harmonisation of the 700 Mhz bandwidth, which is coveted for its distribution qualities, as well as being widely used in some member states for terrestrial television. Despite the popularity of internet television, classic TV is still very present in Italy, Spain, Poland, and to some extent in the UK. On the other hand, France, Germany, Finland and Sweden have already begun allocating this bandwidth.