Kroes calls for central spectrum management

Central management of digital dividend spectrum allocations by the European Union (EU) could boost the economic impact of the former TV signals by €1 billion to €3 billion per year, Digital Agenda commissioner Neelie Kroes says.
 
Speaking to delegates at the Spectrum Management Conference in Brussels yesterday, Kroes said EU coordination of digital dividend spectrum could add to the quarter of a trillion Euros already being generated by radio spectrum in the region each year. She called for data rates of 30-Mbps for all citizens by 2020, and noted mobile data traffic is on track to hit three trillion megabytes per month in 2016.
 
However, the commissioner noted there is still work to do to achieve European Commission radio spectrum targets for wireless broadband. The EC aims to make at least 1,200-MHz of spectrum available for mobile internet by 2015, but Kroes notes many member states are a long way off achieving that goal.
 
“Sweden is already there; Denmark, Estonia, Germany and Latvia are there or are getting close. But ten member states are not even half way there,” she states.
 
Kroes also notes a central spectrum inventory is required to boost harmonization efforts, and simplify the process of freeing up more spectrum. She believes there are already stocks of suitable spectrum available, which can be utilized through improving how it is used, and by reallocating unused or underused blocks.
 
“[N]ational inventories would not be enough,” she warns, adding. “Only from European level can we most efficiently see the whole picture.”