ECC WG FM - Helsinki

Helsinki hosted last 23-26 January the 59th meeting of the Frequency Management working group (WG FM).
  
Project team FM PT 38 reported that it is revising Recommendation T/R 25-08, which covers criteria for the planning and co-ordination of land mobile service frequencies in the 29.7-921 MHz band. The revision of this recommendation will take into account ECC Report 97, concerning the most efficient use of spectrum in cross-border areas including broadband technologies; said report was in public consultation until last 15 December.
  
The participants also reviewed the current status of work being undertaken by the recently created project team FM PT 44, which covers satellite issues. Two generic decisions now being developed stand out, one on free circulation and use and the other on licence exemption for mobile satellite service (MSS) terminals operating in the frequency bands between 1 and 3 GHz.
  
The meeting also saw the presentation to WG FM of the report responding to the mandate the Commission issued to CEPT concerning the identification of conditions related to the European Union availability of harmonised frequency bands for broadband wireless access (BWA) applications. During the course of the work conducted by the JPT BWA group, studies were undertaken in CEPT to attest to sharing between BWA and other systems and/or services in the 3400-3800 MHz band. Some countries showed their concern about the rather discouraging results for mobile service, compared to fixed satellite service (FSS), problems which may be overcome if co-ordination procedures are established between the two services.
  
Updating the European Common Table (ERC Report 25) was also discussed, per the conclusions presented in the report answering the Commission mandate on BWA, which may eventually raise to primary the status of mobile service in the 3600-3800 MHz band.
  
Lastly, a new project team was set up under the responsibility of WG FM - FM PT 45 - whose activities will focus on issues involving broadcasting. Its chair, occupied by the United Kingdom, proposed to WG FM approval of the project team?s terms of reference and next presented a summary of the points covered at the first meeting, highlighting discussions about the Commission mandate concerning the 1.5 GHz frequency band (on the need to amend the MA02 agreement to enable the introduction of multimedia mobile services in the L band). Also considered was the need to study the introduction of multimedia technologies in the 1479.5-1492 MHz band, and the need to find out whether it is possible to convert the digital terrestrial television (DVB-T) broadcasting allocations in Band III into consignments for terrestrial digital audio broadcasting (T-DAB), and the respective consequences.
  
The next WG FM meeting will be held next 21-25 May in the French city of Nice.