Broadcasters open door to case-by-case UHF sharing as CEPT toolbox looms

European broadcasters have signalled they will accept mobile sharing of the 470-694 MHz UHF band on a case-by-case basis, a shift disclosed at a CEPT workshop in Copenhagen last week that positions the continent for country-by-country spectrum outcomes rather than a single harmonised settlement.

The stakes are concrete. Public service media in Europe contributes between €3 billion and €5 billion to the economy, according to Elena Puigrefagut of the European Broadcasting Union (EBU), who made the social and economic case for protecting digital terrestrial television (DTT) at the event. "With only these two activities, music and sports, we create over 110,000 jobs," she said. "It's quite an important contribution."

What is the regulatory context?

DTT currently shares its incumbent position in the UHF band with programme-making and special events (PMSE) users. An EU decision has guaranteed that use until 2030. At WRC-23, the International Telecommunication Union's world radiocommunication conference, IMT received a secondary allocation in the band. Since then, broadcasters and the PMSE industry have moved to counter a perceived threat from the entry of another primary user, whether mobile, public protection and disaster relief (PPDR), or the defence sector.

The Copenhagen workshop suggests both sides now accept there will not be one European answer. Puigrefagut conceded the mobile industry's economic argument has force: the mobile sector would say, "We can multiply those values by 10, by 100". Her response was that broadcasters are "not negligible" and that "the social value that we add is important", citing DTT's role in promoting democracy, cultural diversity, social inclusion and education.

What is the CEPT toolbox?

CEPT's frequency management working group (WG FM) is developing two items: an ECC decision on PMSE use in the 1350-1400 MHz band, and a toolkit for "flexible use" of the UHF band due for completion in June 2028. The toolbox exists only in early draft form. Its sections on scenarios for flexible use of 470-694 MHz and on cross-border considerations remain empty.

"The objective is to provide guidance for those administrations that plan to introduce additional mobile applications into the band at the national level, on a secondary basis, taking into account existing planning and regulatory frameworks," said WG FM chair Daniel Bielefeld.

At the group's September meeting, Italy introduced an eight-country input — joined by Croatia, Cyprus, Montenegro, North Macedonia, Serbia, Spain and Vatican City — to modify elements of the draft report.

How tight is spectrum already?

Jaume Pujol Huguet of Broadcast Networks Europe argued that nothing like the earlier "digital dividend" clearance will happen again because "there is not enough spectrum for some countries". He cited the Tour de France, which started in Barcelona: "The need for PMSE services, the need for mics and cameras attached to it, forced us to switch off two DTT multiplexes because there is not enough spectrum… already, when we have massive events, we have problems."

National dependence varies sharply. Bianca Papini of Confindustria Radio Televisioni, the trade association for Italian radio and TV broadcasters, said 75% of Italian households rely exclusively on DTT for linear TV. "The purpose of the CEPT tools should not be to determine any future use of the band," she said. "It should make different legitimate national choices compatible; we are looking for the harmonisation of flexibility, meaning a common set of technical regulatory tools that allow different national choices to coexist."

Puigrefagut addressed the coexistence question directly: "How can we manage so that DTT can coexist with other services? Of course, there is an impact on mobile services… we know there is an impact, but we know we can try to find case-by-case solutions." If broadcasters can share spectrum with others, she said, "there is no problem".

Where does the mobile industry stand?

The mobile industry has put its weight behind the FM51 toolbox. Ulrich Rehfuess of Nokia, speaking for the GSA industry group, said: "We believe that the real value is in focusing on this 'toolbox' to manage coexistence scenarios across country borders, with new mobile use on one side of the border and the remaining DTT use on the other side." He added that "talking to each other, negotiating, and agreeing on something certainly helps a lot".

The GSMA has produced a report examining whether "a multi-speed approach could minimise cross-border interference issue", using case studies at the Finland/Russia, Germany/Poland and Nigeria/Benin borders. It concludes that "site-specific engineering measures can significantly improve coexistence".

"We want to learn what's possible," said Ross Bateson, senior director at GSMA. "I know some of us have been through this before." He added that services "really need to understand each other as much as possible… there's very little point where there is an incredibly busy service in any one country saying that it's not important or saying that one service is more important than another".

With the FM51 toolbox not due until June 2028 and its cross-border chapters still unwritten, administrations and operators face roughly four years of negotiation before flexible UHF use gains a common European framework.