Though the corridors at ITU Telecom World 2009 may not be filled, the Radio Spectrum that is being debated there risks becoming overly full. That was the warning EBU TECHNICAL Director Lieven Vermaele expressed in a panel session on spectrum needs.
Digital Deficit
In the session, which mixed technical facts, humour and political anecdotes, Vermaele coined the term 'Digital Deficit' to warn that broadcast technology and services continue to evolve, including the need for spectrum. Examples include HDTV, mobile TV, 3D TV and UHDTV (which is currently being developed in Japan). If there is not enought Digital Dividend spectrum allocated to Broadcasting Services those applications might not be part of the terrestrial offer. Broadcasters are increasing their service offerings over broadcast and broadband wireless services. The Director also noted that much of the success of broadband wireless services is driven by media consumption.
| Mobile Dividend |  |
White spaces for Mobile services
The EBU Director highlighted that current discussions on cognitive radio systems and software-defined radio systems are concentrated on the 'white spaces' of broadcasting services.Those discussions should also be extended to the frequency bands allocated to Mobile services. Dr Mokone-Matabane (Sentech, South Africa) stressed the importance of Free To Air (FTA) television in Africa, where national economies are not very robust and where the multiplicity of languages makes a strong case for keeping spectrum with the broadcasters to serve the public need. She coined the term 'Social Dividend' to underline her belief that certain social needs should transcend the 'bottom line'. The session ended with a 'Christmas wish' from each of the panellists. These ranged from the desire for a totally new frequency planning system (Mr Laudan, Deutsche Telekom) to the "Fruitful coexistence of broadcasters and telcos" (Mr Bienaimé, UMTS Forum). The wish to not see a Digital Deficit was probably shared by all.