Purpose of this discussion document
In this document, Ofcom has laid out a number of alternative approaches to the technical conditions associated with the award of the 1452-1479.5MHz sub band. These proposals are designed to address a number of the technical issues raised by the respondents.
At this point this document does not seek to fully address all of the points made by respondents to the original consultation or to revisit the other areas relevant to the award of the available spectrum which were addressed in the consultation document, e.g. options for packaging the available spectrum or auction design. As such this document should be read in conjunction with the consultation document. In addition Ofcom is simultaneously publishing a sister document that is looking at auction design for the award of this spectrum. Ofcom’s decision on all of these issues will be set out in its Statement on this award expected in the summer of 2007.
With any set of technical conditions there is a trade off between flexibility and thereby encouraging a wider range of services and technologies and giving the market greater certainty, but potentially reducing the flexible use of the spectrum. The conditions in the March 2006 consultation were closer to the former while the consultation responses suggested a preference for the latter. In addition the consultation responses raised a number of concerns that the proposed approach may not lead to an efficient allocation of the spectrum and as such may not fulfil Ofcom’s statutory duties. The revised technical conditions proposed in this document are designed to give the market sufficient certainty while not unduly inhibiting alternative technologies.
In this document Ofcom is laying out four proposals for the technical conditions of this band:
- Proposal 1 – A spectrum mask approach based on an augmented Maastricht mask, as referred to in the consultation document.
- Proposal 2 – A spectrum mask approach based on the ETSI critical mask
- Proposal 3 – A SURs approach based on an augmented Maastricht mask
- Proposal 4 – A SURs approach based on the ETSI critical mask
The technical conditions as they relate to SURs are laid out in detail in section 3 and Annex 6, however a few points are worth drawing out
- At this stage the proposal from the original consultation to have an industry agreed code of practice to deal with Adjacent Channel Interference remains
- Users of the spectrum still have the ability to negotiate with other users in the band if they require different usage rights
It should be noted that the technical rights of use of this band are still subject to all relevant international arrangements including EU harmonisation measures. As laid out in Ofcom’s statement in October 2006, the Radio Spectrum Committee ( RSC) has requested the European Conference of Postal and Telecommunications Administrations (CEPT) to make an assessment of the technical regulatory conditions and to recommend relevant provisions that can be made within the framework of the Maastricht 2002 Special Arrangement to allow a range of mobile multimedia technologies, in addition to T- DAB, to use the band. Following consideration of this report, one possible outcome could be that RSC will seek to develop an EC Decision regarding future use of the 1452-1479.5 MHz band which, if adopted, would be binding on the UK and other Member States. As such there is a possibility that the international conditions associated with the band may change.
Ofcom would welcome comments or views on any aspect of this discussion document by 12 April 2007 In particular on the following question:
Do stakeholders have any comments on the technical proposals made in this document or have any other comments on the contents of this document?