CEPT working group FM51 has agreed to harmonise the 1350–1400 MHz band across Europe for professional wireless microphones, but left adoption to each of the bloc's national administrations, the body confirmed after its September meeting in Berlin.

Under the draft ECC Decision, national regulators would designate the 50 MHz block for audio PMSE on a non-exclusive, non-interference, non-protected basis. The "tuning range" approach lets equipment makers build microphones usable across borders without every country having to clear the frequencies locally.

What does the decision change?

In practice, very little — at least until the CEPT work programme closes in 2027. After that, each member state decides whether to implement the measure, amend it or leave the band untouched.

That voluntary character drew a cautious response from the PMSE industry. Microphone manufacturer Shure told FM51 in a written submission that 1350–1400 MHz "shows the potential" to be "an additional resource to supplement the heavily used 470–694 MHz band."

Shure added that PMSE stakeholders need more information to assess whether spectrum access in the band is technically feasible across different European countries.

What does the PMSE industry want?

Global trade body APWPT framed the test differently. "The decision's value will not be measured by its adoption in administrations where the band is already available but its ability to unlock access where it is not," the group said.

APWPT also pressed FM51 to keep any access restrictions "to the minimum necessary and proportionate," warning that onerous conditions would constrain the band's usefulness for professional PMSE applications.

Why is more spectrum needed?

The 470–694 MHz band remains the workhorse for Europe's wireless-microphone operators. EU rules protect the band for digital terrestrial television (DTT) and PMSE until at least 2030.

World Radiocommunication Conference 2023 (WRC-23) added a secondary mobile allocation across 470–694 MHz in 43 CEPT countries — a compromise that PMSE and broadcasters have watched with concern. Mobile operators have mainly migrated to the adjacent 694–790 MHz "700 MHz" band for 5G.

With that pressure rising, regulators have looked to 1350–1400 MHz as supplementary capacity. PMSE has held a secondary allocation there for more than a decade, and several CEPT and ECC recommendations already list the band as suitable for wireless microphones.

Why is implementation uneven?

Fixed-link and military users already occupy 1350–1400 MHz in Spain, Estonia, Croatia, the UK and Finland, complicating a uniform clearance.

The first EU-level step came in 2012 with ECC Short Range Device Recommendation 70-03, which acknowledged limited use of the band in Austria, Azerbaijan, Germany, Lithuania and Luxembourg.

ERC Recommendation 25-10 followed in 2023, setting out several "tuning ranges" for PMSE "due to divergent national frequency plans and differing PMSE requirements." Those national carve-ups now sit awkwardly alongside the harmonisation drive.

ECC Report 372, approved earlier this year, was meant to bridge that gap. It underpins the technical work FM51 is still running on mobile power limits to protect PMSE users — a measure against which the PMSE industry has pushed back on the grounds that low uptake makes it disproportionate.

What's next?

CEPT's work programme on the file is scheduled to finish in 2027, after which national administrations can ratify, reject or adjust the ECC Decision.

PMSE operators and broadcasters now watch whether Germany — already a country with limited existing use — opts to designate the band under the new framework. A green light from Berlin would set a template for the wider bloc and convert the FM51 compromise into actual spectrum.