Advanced Television

Spectrum

GSMA urges timely release of 700Mhz spectrum

Anne Bouverot, Director General of the GSMA, which represents the interests of mobile operators worldwide, has called on European regulators to give Member States the flexibility to keep pace with the changing needs of consumers by supporting a co-primary mobile broadcasting allocation in the UHF band. She made her comments in response to the release […]

June 12, 2015By Colin Mann

Telco bodies oppose spectrum reassignment

The European Conference of Postal and Telecommunications Administrations (CEPT) has agreed a common position which opposes the allocation of the UHF band (470-694MHz) to mobile services. The vote was held in preparation for the International Telecommunication Union (ITU) WRC-15 Conference, where important decisions on the future assignment of spectrum will be made. The European Common […]

June 8, 2015By Colin Mann

DISH Network/T-Mobile merger talks?

There are unconfirmed reports that Charlie Ergen’s DISH Network is in merger talks with cellular giant T-Mobile. The Wall Street Journal is running the story saying Ergen would become Chairman of the enlarged group, while T-Mobile’s chief executive John Legere would be CEO. Dish is declining to comment. However, the WSJ says the deal discussions […]

June 4, 2015By Chris Forrester

Brazil ups satellite-auction prices

Brazil’s government says the entry price for an upcoming auction of satellite spectrum is being increased by 20 per cent to a minimum of BRL 27 million (about $9 million). The nation’s Court of Audit (TCU) approved the sum following on from recommendations from Anatel (the National Telecoms Agency) Brazil will sell access to 4 […]

May 15, 2015By Chris Forrester

France: 700 MHz applications confirmed for July

The call for applications for the 700 MHz DTT band auction to French telecoms is set for early July, Sébastien Soriano, the president of telecom regulatory body Arcep, confirmed. The final round for the allocation of these frequencies to operators, for an estimated €2 billion, will take place before the end of 2015. From December […]

May 11, 2015From Pascale Paoli-Lebailly in Paris

EBU calls for DTT spectrum safeguards

As the European Commission’s public consultation on the Lamy Report on the future use of the UHF band (470-790 MHz) closes, the EBU is renewing its call to safeguard the interests of TV viewers in the EU by offering long-term guarantees for Digital Terrestrial Television (DTT). The Commission sought to collect views on the report’s […]

April 13, 2015By Colin Mann

France considers 700 MHz band

France’s telecoms regulator ARCEP has published a summary of the contributions to its consultation on a strategic review of spectrum for superfast mobile, which ran from December 16th 2014 to February 16th 2015. At a time when mobile Internet traffic continues to increase at a tremendous pace, the purpose of the consultation was to examine […]

April 2, 2015By Colin Mann

South Africa to miss DSO deadline

Although South Africa’s Communications Minister Faith Muthambi had earlier intimated that the nation would switch off its analogue broadcasting system in June, the Department of Communications has issued a New Broadcasting Digital Migration policy which suggests this is not the case. The Department says it welcomes the Cabinet decision regarding the approval of the Broadcasting […]

March 9, 2015By Colin Mann

DOCOMO’s 5G achieves 4.5Gbps

DOCOMO, a personalised mobile solutions provider for smarter living, has announced that its joint 5G outdoor trial with Ericsson achieved a maximum data transmission speed of over 4.5Gbps using the high-frequency 15GHz spectrum band on February 17th. This is the first phase of trials designed to pave the way for DOCOMO’s deployment of a commercial […]

March 2, 2015

DISH Network CEO retiring

DISH Network has announced that President and Chief Executive Officer Joseph Clayton will retire from his position effective March 31t 2015. Clayton, who is a 42-year veteran of the consumer electronics industry, leaves the post he assumed in June of 2011. DISH Co-founder and Chairman Charles Ergen, who has previously served as DISH’s President and […]

February 23, 2015