This consultation document sets out our proposals for the award of part of the spectrum freed up for new uses by digital switchover (DSO). We call the spectrum made available by DSO the ‘digital dividend’. The digital dividend has been the focus of our Digital Dividend Review (DDR) since we launched it in 2005.
There are two distinct categories of spectrum in the digital dividend: the spectrum that by 2012 will be cleared of television transmissions (the cleared spectrum); and capacity available within the 256 MHz of spectrum that will be used to carry the six digital terrestrial television (DTT) multiplexes (the existing DTT multiplexes) after DSO. We are concerned in this document with the second type, which we call the geographic interleaved spectrum. It is so called because for each channel within this spectrum there are geographic areas where not all of the channels will be used for existing DTT and in those areas these unused channels may be used for other services.
his document is one of three separate consultations we are publishing on implementing the digital dividend awards. Two other consultation documents set out our proposals on the auction for the cleared spectrum (published 6 June 2008) and on the ‘beauty contest’ for the part of the interleaved spectrum to be administered by a band manager with obligations to Programme Making and Special Events (PMSE) users (to be published later in the summer).
In our work on the DDR we have found potential demand for digital dividend spectrum for local television. In a statement we published in December 2007 (‘the DDR statement’) we set out our decisions on the strategic approach we would take to the release of the digital dividend. We considered arguments made to reserve spectrum exclusively for local television but decided against this. Among other things, we considered that this might displace other high value uses for the spectrum and would reduce incentives for efficient spectrum use.
We have also identified other potential uses for the geographic interleaved spectrum, including new DTT services over a wider area, mobile broadband and PMSE. We said in the DDR statement that we had decided therefore to award the geographic interleaved spectrum in lots that would be suitable for local TV but would not restrict their use to this service.
In the DDR statement we proposed that the spectrum to be awarded would be packaged in geographic lots, based on main TV transmission sites serving major towns and cities. We set out an indicative list of 25 possible locations across the UK where we expected that interest would justify offering such lots and/or where local television operators were already licensed to provide an analogue service. We said we would be prepared to consider other locations where there was evidence of demand.
We also said in the DDR statement that we would award the first set of spectrum lots for those locations where existing restricted television service licence (RTSL) operators need, prior to DSO, sufficient clarity about their options for future spectrum access. These are channels at the Caldbeck, Winter Hill and Wenvoe transmission sites for Carlisle, Manchester and Cardiff, respectively.