Broadcasters call for UHF spectrum preservation
July 5, 2023
By Colin Mann
In advance of the ITU World Radiocommunication Conference 2023 (WRC-23) in Dubai, Marco Rossignoli, coordinator of Aeranti-Corallo, the federation that represents about 600 companies in the local Italian radio and television industry has stressed the absolute need to preserve the lower band of the 470 and 694 Megahertz for broadcaster activity.
Aeranti-Corallo notes that the international debate continues regarding a change of use of the so-called 600 band (UHF frequencies 470-694 MHz). “Telco operators are insistently requesting that this portion of the spectrum be transferred to mobile broadband services,” it notes.
A decision on this issue will be taken at WRC-23. This would be a so-called ‘co-primary’ (or even ‘secondary’) allocation which in short, it would translate, in practice, into the de facto exclusion of the media from the airwaves, advises Aeranti-Corallo.
“Only the full maintenance of the UHF 470-694 Megahertz band in charge of broadcasting can guarantee the full protection of the terrestrial radio and television services,” argues Rossignoli. “Broadcasters are the primary source of free information and entertainment for a large part of the population.”
“The mobile services industry already benefits a large radioelectric spaces in UHF, operating on the so-called 700 and 800 MHz bands, following the refarming implemented in past years and any need to optimise the coverage of these services can be implemented by developing the infrastructure currently operating on these bands,” he suggests .