London hosted last 15-16 October the third meeting of the RSPG working group on Efficient Awards and Use of Spectrum Harmonised for Electronic Communications Service, attended by 14 participants representing Denmark, Slovenia, France, Ireland, Norway, Portugal, the Netherlands, United Kingdom and Sweden.
This working group was set up by the RSPG at its February 2014 meeting to prepare a report on best practices associated to spectrum allocation methods and the efficient use of harmonised bands. The work should highlight the potential impacts of different award processes on efficient spectrum use and which practices have been followed by the various member states. The report must be published for public consultation in the summer of 2015 and be approved in November of the same year.
The first day included a session with several external bodies with the aim of obtaining another view of the subject under analysis: four mobile operators from the United Kingdom with operations in other European countries (Vodafone, EE – Everything Everywhere, Three, Telefónica/O2), and the Global System for Mobile Communications Association (GSMA), which represents the interests of 800 operators in more than 220 countries.
On the next day, the working group examined the contributions to the report. The following stood out among the various topics discussed: efficient spectrum use and techniques for operators to implement as a first step before more spectrum is freed up for mobile broadband, secondary spectrum trading as a mechanism for correcting relatively inefficient assignments and the impact on band harmonisation of spectrum demand variation in the 28 member states.
