WASHINGTON-European countries are having difficulties with spectrum policy-not to mention a continental spectrum policy-for much the same reason the United States is having difficulties with spectrum policy issues.
“Currently, different departments are responsible for different parts of the spectrum, e.g., the Ministry of Defense takes charge of its frequencies, and so forth. Very often consultation amongst such ministries is not optimal. This situation can also be observed where individual industries compete for access to the same spectrum,” said Robert Verrue, director general of the European Commission Information Society.
In the United States, senior military officers are locked in a virtual battle to keep control of spectrum at 1.7 GHz, which most of the U.S. wireless industry would like to see re-allocated for commercial third-generation (3G) wireless. Caught in the middle is the Department of Commerce, which is supposed to put commercial interests first, but is also the keeper of government spectrum.
As if a battle with the military is not enough, U.S. mobile-phone interests are also butting heads with fixed wireless providers Sprint and WorldCom, along with religious and educational entities, for use of spectrum at 2.5 GHz as another option for 3G services.
In Europe, the European Commission (EC) hopes to help member countries break through similar logjams by creating a Senior Officials Radio Spectrum Policy Group with membership made up of member states.
“The representatives of the member states will be required to present a coordinated national position, both at the inter-departmental level, as well as with regard to the interests of national industries,” said Verrue.
Verrue made his comments at a recent luncheon sponsored by the European Institute. The institute bills itself as a “neutral forum to facilitate information exchange between decision makers in U.S. and European business and government.” The luncheon was the closing event to a morning-long roundtable on telecommunications and electronic commerce called “Speculating on Spectrum: The U.S. and Europe Look to the Future.”
While Verrue said it is the EC’s goal to have a much more coordinated spectrum policy, his associate Ruprecht Niepold said, “there is no way for Brussels to take over spectrum.”
Niepold said the recent speculation in the auction market for 3G wireless spectrum and the resulting downturn in the wireless economy in Europe have led to the current efforts of countries working more closely together.
Verrue said the purpose of the Senior Officials Radio Spectrum Policy Group is to discuss, but not negotiate, spectrum policy issues, such as technical standards and timing of service offerings.
“This dialogue is not a negotiation. I wouldn’t call it a mutual striptease, but it is almost that. There is a lot to discuss about similar attempts or attempts at similar problems. We will try to turn as many stones as possible,” Verrue said.
