| NOTAS: | A study prepared for the European CommissionDG Communications Networks, Content & Technology by
Plum Consulting London LLP and Farncombe Consulting Group
"The Study considered three key questions:
•How will audio-visual (AV) consumption in the European Union change over the next 15 years?
•How will broadcast-broadband services develop in that period?
•Is there merit in moving to a converged platform in which mobile and terrestrial TV broadcast services share common infrastructure and UHF spectrum?
At the moment the development of broadcast-broadband converged services is focused on combining fixed broadband and broadcast services. Most of these developments will succeed or fail through market mechanisms. But the development of a converged platform will require policy interventions. The best option for such a converged platform involves moving the Digital Terrestrial Television network from its current high-power high-tower topology to the low-power low-tower (LPLT) topology of the mobile networks. Making such a move requires substantial amounts of spectrum below 700 MHz for simulcasting and relies heavily on the use of co-channel single frequency networks (SFNs). Assuming these challenges are met, the main incremental benefit comes from the release of between 110 and 175 MHz of UHF spectrum. The Study report concludes that the case for moving to a converged platform is not yet made. The incremental benefits of a converged platform are uncertain when compared to the incremental costs of transition. At the top end of the range of likely benefit values there is a clear case for a converged platform; at the bottom end of the range there is no such case. Therefore, committing to a converged platform at this stage would mean incurring substantial costs with no guarantee of future net benefits. The Study team therefore recommended a review of the case for a converged platform, when market uncertainty is reduced in three to five years’ time. In such a review a converged platform should be assessed alongside other options for use of sub-700 MHz spectrum.
The Commission will assess the outcome of the study in the context of EU level audio-visual and broadband policies and in particular regarding the long-term strategy for the future use of the UHF band (470-790 MHz)." |
