Copenhagen hosted last 27-28 November the ninth meeting of project team 42 (PT 42) of the Spectrum Engineering Group (WG SE), which was attended by about 40 representatives of administrations, operators, makers, the ERO and the European Commission (EC). PT 42 is responsible for technical issues concerning the introduction of flexible spectrum use in certain frequency bands. The group's current objective is to respond to the EC mandate of 5 July 2006, framed in the new EC policy on flexible spectrum use. Bearing in mind the need to prevent interference, the mandate requires determination of the minimum technical conditions to be applied to the frequency bands (470-862 MHz, 880-915 MHz/925-960 MHz, 1710-1785 MHz/1805-1880 MHz, 1900-1980 MHz/2010-2025 MHz/2110-2170 MHz, 2.5-2.69 GHz and 3.4-3.8 GHz) indicated by the Radio Spectrum Committee (RSC), per the Wireless Access Policy for Electronic Communication Services (WAPECS) concept, of the Radio Spectrum Policy Group (RSPG).
The participants in the meeting revised the Report points not completed at the previous group meeting, specifically the band for 2.5 GHz and UHF, the executive summary and the conclusions. Regarding the 2.5 GHz band, the Block Edge Mask (BEM) was approved after lengthy debate. It contains technical conditions and values validated by the industry participants in the group. As for the UHF band, the section concerning same was developed, with a view to including some of the conclusions obtained at the World Radiocommunication Conference (WRC-07) and also reflecting the Geneva Plan (2006).
Lastly, the executive summary was modified bearing in mind the contribution of the working group on Frequency Management (WG FM), mentioning the studies on flexible spectrum use within CEPT. The document's conclusions were also revised and brought into line. Note that some industry representatives indicated they would send in opinions on this proposed response. Before submission to the EC, the response to the Mandate will also be presented and debated at the December 2007 meeting of the Electronic Communications Committee (ECC). PT 42 will continue its work on flexible spectrum use, specifically on flexible bands per the concept in ECC Report 80.
