The African Telecommunication Union (ATU) agreed a common position which opposes the allocation of the UHF band (470-694MHz) and the C band (3600-4200MHz) to mobile services.
The decision was made at their final preparatory meeting last week in Nairobi, Kenya. The objective of the meeting was to consider developments since the 3rd African Preparatory Meeting held in January 2015 and to develop African Common Proposals/Positions for the upcoming International Telecommunications Union (ITU) WRC-15 Conference in November 2015.
Important decisions about the future allocation of spectrum will be made at the next ITU WRC-15 meeting.
EBU Director of Technology & Innovation, Simon Fell, commented on the result “We are pleased to see another continent in ITU Region 1 confirm their support for DTT below 700MHz. It is important that we continue to voice our common position to secure adequate spectrum for the broadcasting industry.”
For both the UHF band (470-694MHz) and the C band (3600-4200MHz), the ATU agreed a common position on Method A (No Change). Each of the sub-regional groups – the Southern African Development Community (SADC), the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) and the East African communication Organizations (EACO) – also supported this position.
The ATU also agreed a common position for allocating the L-band (1452-1492 MHz) to mobile services.