Mobile broadband at 700 MHz receives EU approval

Mobile broadband in the 700 MHz band has been approved by the EU Parliament Plenary.

There are now no regulatory barriers to prevent member states from preparing for the implementation of mobile broadband services for mission-critical communication applications.

The TCCA has welcomed this approval.

“Harmonised frequency across the EU can only be a good thing; however, we continue to lobby governments to reserve dedicated spectrum within the 700 MHz band to prevent mission-critical services having to compete with consumer services for bandwidth,” said Phil Kidner, TCCA CEO.

The EPP decision means that all provisions, technical as well as legal, are now in place for the gradual implementation of a pan-European mission-critical mobile broadband network according to member states’ national circumstances.

In 2016 the binding technical provisions were published to establish harmonised technical conditions in the 700 MHz band for public protection and disaster relief (PPDR) mobile broadband services.

Coordinating the release of the frequency band across all member states will catalyse the development of innovative mobile services across the EU, both for critical PPDR and for areas such as remote health care, smart cities and connected cars.

“France is currently the only member state that has allocated dedicated spectrum for PPDR in the 700 MHz band. We are following closely the progress of the Swedish PPDR stakeholders’ recommendation to hold one of the three 700 MHz allocations as a national asset for a future nationwide mission-critical mobile broadband network. There are also positive developments in Norway, where a report to the national regulator clearly recommends taking the needs of PPDR on board in the licensing conditions,” said Kidner.

Image credit: ©stock.adobe.com/au/Maxim_Kazmin

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