Vienna hosted on 20 October the first meeting of the working group on the RSPG’s long-term opinion on programme making and special events (PMSE) equipment, chaired by Franz Ziegelwanger (Austria) and attended by representatives from Austria, Denmark, the European Commission (EC), France, the Netherlands, Portugal, Sweden and the United Kingdom.
At its 40th meeting on 8 June 2016 the RSPG approved development of an opinion on PMSE, specifically a long-term strategy on spectrum requirements for future needs and uses of wireless PMSE audio and video applications.
The EC wants the opinion to include the expected impact in PMSE services, bearing in mind changes in existing use and the growing need for shared spectrum use and has asked for an assessment of strategic options regarding spectrum access by wireless PMSE audio and video applications that can supply the quality of service needed for PMSE applications. This RSPG opinion should also supply guidelines about the relevance of a common roadmap to support the PMSE audio and video sector in access to spectrum, taking different national needs into account.
The first version of the proposed opinion should be completed in June 2017 and the final version in November 2017, to be subject to public consultation.
The following issues were discussed at the meeting:
- Presentation of group participants with respect to areas of responsibility;
- Existing documents that can be considered when drawing up the opinion on PMSE (for example, the RSPG Opinion on the future of the UHF band);
- The structure of the opinion in question;
- PMSE audio and video should be approached separately owing to their characteristics;
- Current authorisation systems governing PMSE;
- What future spectrum can eventually be used by PMSE;
- Application of the concept of licensed access with spectrum sharing for PMSE;
- The opinion of equipment manufacturers and users and of the European Telecommunications Standards Institute should be taken into account in a more advanced phase of this opinion’s development.
