IBC 2011 — Cooperation was the spirit of the day as IBC's keynote session on radio spectrum policy addressed the differing opinions of mobile operators and broadcasters when it comes to spectrum allocation. But can it last?
The surge in mobile data and video traffic is creating an unprecedented challenge for wireless operators looking to support ever-expanding demand for the services. Gabrielle Gauthey, executive vice president at Alcatel-Lucent, said in the panel that spectrum is "badly needed," especially when you consider that 70 percent of mobile handsets will be Internet-enabled within five years, driving a 30X increase in data traffic, with 80 percent of traffic on those phones being video.
Regulators around the world have plans to repurpose broadcast spectrum for advanced wireless services, something that has free-to-air broadcasters less than pleased. In the U.S., local TV channels have given up more than 25 percent of TV spectrum and spent $15 billion transitioning from analog to digital television over the past two years, to support HD program andming multicasting, and the ability to send video to smartphones, tablets and laptops. Broadcast advocates like the NAB's Gordon Smith have loudly condemned the policy, noting that reallocation is pernicious at worst and prioritizes a less compelling and useful technology at best.
It's an ongoing issue: The FCC is considering re-auctioning up to 40 percent more of those airwaves to accommodate the congestion issue in mobile 3G and 4G broadband networks, and other markets are considering similar moves, as in Europe. That’s a plan, Smith says, that will lead to forcible relocation of broadcasters, crowd channels closer together, reduce their coverage, destroy innovation for viewers, increase interference and degrade their signals.
At the session at IBC, though, some said they could see a middle way forward. “As long as we keep a pragmatic approach, both services can co-exist and flourish," said Gina Nieri, the director of institutional, legal affairs and strategic analysis at Italian commercial broadcaster Mediaset. “Rather than investing on a single and expensive network, European users can be better served by multi-network solutions sharing traffic between complementary (mobile/fixed) platforms."
She added, “Any decision to reallocate/reassign UHF frequencies should not jeopardize the legitimate expectation of a return on these investments."
