The final stakeholder workshop in the context of a study on broadcast-broadband convergence was held on 04 November 2014 in Brussels. The study was conducted by Plum Consulting and Farncombe for the European Commission.
The main objective of the study was to assess the social and economic merit in moving to a converged platform which uses UHF spectrum for both terrestrial broadcast and mobile services. The study explores future developments in the delivery of audio-visual and Internet services over the next 15 years. It also looks at how these developments will impact the evolution of terrestrial wireless access networks, especially digital terrestrial TV and mobile broadband networks.
The EBU has engaged with the study team, in particular, during the fact-finding phase of the study.
The study concluded that the economic case for a converged platform is not yet made – net benefits might be positive or negative. Implementation of a converged platform is not considered practical before 2025. There are significant uncertainties about future technological and market developments and audience behaviour. Therefore, it was proposed to conduct a further review in 3-5 years when the uncertainty is reduced.
The main aim of the workshop was to present the overall study findings and to give stakeholders an opportunity to comment.
The final study report is expected to be published in December 2014. The European Commission clarified that the report will contribute to an EU strategy for the future use of the UHF band that is currently being prepared.