THE STATE OF THE EUROPEAN UNION

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THE STATE OF THE EUROPEAN UNION
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Managing radio spectrum (Radio Spectrum
Policy)
Harmonizing management of radio spectrum is
one of the major challenges the European Union
faces. There are a number of reasons why such
harmonization is needed. From the perspective
of physics, electromagnetic waves do not recog-
nize borders and international coordination is
therefore required. From the economic perspec-
tive, the harmonization of frequency bands is
needed in order to create economies of scale
and reduce the cost of equipment. Strategically,
telecommunications operators must be allocat-
ed the spectrum they need to develop networks
that will maximize the benefits to be derived from
a connected society. However, there are also ma-
jor obstacles to reach a full harmonization. Radio
spectrum management competences has always
been held by Member States, because it is an as-
set considered to be part of the public domain. As
a result, it has been responsibility of national gov-
ernments, who are very reluctant to accept the
loss of sovereignty that transferring these compe-
tencies to Europe would entail, particularly in light
of their great strategic importance.
In response to this issue, in 2012 the Radio
Spectrum Policy Programme (RSPP) was pub-
lished, establishing the guidelines to be fol-
lowed in this area, with the first implementation
report5 being issued in 2014. Key points of this
report include the need for cooperation in allo-
cating 1,200 MHz of spectrum for 2015 (cur-
rently only 990 MHz have been harmonized),
the delays in some countries in allocating the
800 MHz band, and proposals for shared use of
the spectrum for certain services.
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On 1st September 2014 the report6 on spec-
trum inventory was published, setting out the
principal conclusions of a study drawing on har-
monized, centralized access to all information
relating to spectrum use in the different Member
States.
Finally, 2014 also was important with regard
to the future of the UHF band, currently used by
the DTT. At the end of the year, Pascal Lamy
published the “2020-2030-2025” aproach as a
result of this study. This formula consists in the
use of the 700 MHz band by wireless broad-
band services in 2020 +/- 2 years, and the need
to ensure the stability of the rest of the band for
DTT until 2030, with 2025 proposed as the date
for reviewing its future.
Telecommunications regulation: Single
Telecom Market
One of the major developments of the past year
has been the drafting (but not the approval) of
new European electronic communications regu-
lation. This document was the key project of
commissioner Neelie Kroes, given that before a
true Digital Single Market can be achieved, it is
necessary to first establish the foundations for a
Single Telecom Market to permit the develop-
ment of a digital economy and to promote in-
novation.
These regulations have grabbed much of the
media attention, due to the major impact that
the introduction of net neutrality and the elimi-
nation of roaming charges within the EU could
have on telecommunications operators.
Indeed, it is precisely because of their impor-
tance (and the scale of the pressure being
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