Trading

EU Proposes Creation of Market for Trading Radio Bandwidth

Authored by Mark Hefflinger on September 30, 2005 - 3:23am.
Brussels - The European Commission has proposed the creation of a single pan-EU market for the trading of radio bandwidth by the year 2010. Currently, each of the 25 EU member states runs a different system for regulating bandwidths, which can vary from 400 MHz for TV to 5,000 MHz for Wi-Fi. The Commission believes the status quo is too inefficient and that a unified market would free up more of existing bandwidth and ensure that a greater range of operators are able to use parts of the spectrum. "Radio spectrum is fast becoming the lifeblood of the Information Society, whether you use a mobile phone or watch a TV broadcast," said EU Information Society and Media Commissioner Viviane Reding. "The direct economic contribution of industries using the radio spectrum is already considerable, between 1 and 2% of national GDP in the EU, but could be greatly increased if national regulators and all stakeholders can identify common approaches at EU level to create a single market for equipment and services using radio spectrum."