Never one to hold back, Europe's telecoms commissioner, Viviane Reding, has challenged individual telecoms regulators within Europe to adopt her ambitious spectrum reform plans.
Focusing on what would accelerate the adoption of mobile Internet services, Reding expressed her concern about the apparent lack of ambition for tackling the digital dividend in many member states. "We cannot wait until 2015 to make a mobile allocation in the digital dividend spectrum if we do not want to be sidelined in our quest for mobile Internet."
Speaking to a joint gathering of the European Regulators Group (ERG) and the Radio Spectrum Policy Group (RSPG) in Gothenburg last week, Reding praised the U.S. for its ongoing 700 MHz auctions for "showing the way to open up the digital dividend."
However, she distanced herself from imitating the American process: "In Europe, we have a more complex situation (than the U.S.) and we should be more circumspect, especially concerning the risks of indiscriminate use of auctions. We should consider the full mix of distribution methods available in order to maximize the overall societal, cultural and commercial value of this spectrum."
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