Spain To Allocate 790 Mhz-862 Mhz Band After Analog TV Switch
02 Juin 2009 - 3:38PM
Dow Jones News
Spain's industry ministry said Tuesday it will issue a decree to
regulate the 790 to 862 megahertz band that will be freed up after
Spain phases out analog television.
In a press release, the ministry said the spectrum would be
available for uses other than analog television as of January
2015.
The ministry didn't say how it would reassign the frequency, but
said it would likely be reserved for cellular use, especially for
mobile Internet broadband.
The digital dividend, as the reallocation of frequencies from
analog television is called, has become a hot topic for
telecommunications operators as they look for more spectrum for
data-intensive services like third generation, or 3G, cards and the
latest generation of smart phones.
Spain has slated April 2010 to switch from analog to digital TV,
but the government has said it wants to allow television stations
to continue to use the spectrum for analog and digital broadcasts
for a period after the switchoff.
Digital TV requires less frequency than traditional analog
TV.
Telecommunications companies Telefonica SA (TEF), Vodafone PLC
(VOD), France Telecom SA's (FTE) Orange, Jazztel PLC (JAZ.MC) and
Teliasonera's (TLSN.SK) Yoigo are Spain's main 3G mobile Internet
providers.
-By Jason Sinclair, Dow Jones Newswires; 34 913958127;
jason.sinclair@dowjones.com