Vienna hosted last 13 December 2016 the second meeting of the working group on the long-term RSPG opinion regarding equipment for Programme Making and Special Events (PMSE), chaired by Franz Ziegelwanger of Austria and attended by representatives from various administrations, the European Commission (EC) and the European Telecommunications Standards Institute (ETSI).
At its 40th meeting on 8 June 2016 the RSPG approved the production of an opinion on PMSE, specifically a long-term strategy on spectrum requisites for future use and needs of wireless video and audio PMSE applications.
The EC aims for the opinion to verify what the expected impacts on PMSE services are, bearing in mind evolution of existing use and the growing need for shared spectrum use. It therefore asks for an assessment of strategic options in terms of spectrum access by wireless video and audio PMSE applications which can supply the service quality needed for PMSE applications. This RSPG opinion should also provide guidelines about the relevance of a common roadmap to support the video and audio PMSE sector in access to spectrum, taking into account different national needs.
The first version of the proposed opinion should be ready in June 2017 and the final version in November 2017, so it can be subject to public consultation.
A new version of the proposed opinion on PMSE was considered and discussed. It includes fewer technical elements and focuses on a high-level approach, as recommended by the RSPG.
The discussion focused on aspects such as the necessity, or not, of more harmonised spectrum for PMSE at European Union level, as well as the possibility of harmonising tuning bands, noting in particular that higher bands, from 7 to 8.5 GHz, can serve PMSE needs that have been losing spectrum in lower bands, namely in the ultra high frequency (UHF) band.
