New demands of broadcasting for spectrum

This paper provides an overview of how spectrum is currently used to deliver 'radio' and 'television' services, including some aspects of the way in which broadcast networks have traditionally been planned and implemented, and discuss some aspects of how this is impacted by the co-existence of wide-area wireless networks, both terrestrial and satellite, with other broadband networks. It considers the evolution of broadcast services from the analogue to the digital domain and discuss the impact of the development of new CE devices designed for service reception under stationary, portable and mobile conditions. In a world of ever greater choice driven by changes in consumer behaviour, the paper concludes that even when analogue services are switched off there is unlikely to be a surfeit of spectrum given all of the new service developments for which there appears to be demand. In order to accommodate these new services in terms of spectrum, we wish to consider the development of a long-term but flexible 'spectrum roadmap' for UK and Europe in order to minimise the danger of unnecessary overlap or waste of spectrum. (13 pages)