The Turkish city of Antalya hosted last 11-14 June the fourth meeting of ECC TG4, with the aim of completing the second of the three reports this group will have to draw up in reply to the EC mandate concerning various aspects associated to the possible digital dividend.
This second report, which will now be submitted for approval at the Electronic Communications Committee (ECC) meeting scheduled for 2-6 July, basically focuses on the technical possibility of harmonising a sub-band in UHF bands IV and V for fixed/mobile applications including uplinks; its main conclusions are:
1. The harmonisation will be feasible, as long as same is not mandatory and its use is left to the criteria of the various administrations, per the GE06 agreement and without affecting the rights of licences already granted;
2. The preferred sub-band for that harmonisation is the top part of band V and should include at least channels 62 through 69 806-862 MHz).
The sub-band that the report indicates as being preferential does not correspond to the preferential sub-band indicated by Portugal during the work that led to its elaboration. The introduction of DVB-T in Portugal will use channels 60, 65, 66, 67, 68 and 69; for this reason this band's availability for mobile applications will not be possible in the short/middle term. Portugal therefore presented a reservation regarding the report's conclusions.
