Mrs. Reding began her speech by highlighting the importance of collaboration between spectrum and telecom regulators today, when the electronic communications services are in the phase of converging from fixed to mobile. The economic importance of the wireless sector is rapidly overtaking the wired one in the telecom market. Similarly, the total value of services depending on radio spectrum has increased, and amounts today to already nearly 2.2% of the annual EU GDP. However, Mrs. Reding stressed that the overall impact of the upcoming mobile Internet will be more important. A study commissioned by the European Commission (EC), for example, indicates that the share of private consumer use of mobile communications will increase drastically, exceeding business use largely by 2015. As Mrs. Reding expressed: “The next telecom battlefield is therefore clearly mobile Internet, and “spectrum” is critical ammunition”.

In Mrs. Reding’s view, a competitive wireless economy is one of the main foundations of the Lisbon Strategy. Not only will it create more economic growth and jobs, but it will also reduce the digital divide, increase mobility, help emerging markets deploy faster connections with lower costs, and, by promoting competition, reduce communications fees. Therefore, it is essential to guarantee the spectrum needed for the wireless economy. However, today there is scarcity of spectrum, which in Mrs. Reding’s opinion is caused by inefficient spectrum management due to over-regulation, and geographical and technical fragmentation. As a result, the EC’s views to spectrum in the EU Regulatory Framework for Electronic Communications Networks and Services (Telecom Package) reform can be summed up by “better regulation”. The aim is for national authorities to manage spectrum in an open, objective and rigorous manner, thus maximising the social, cultural and economic benefits of spectrum. The EC has realised the need to focus on optimising the value services underpinned by spectrum provide to society, instead of simply concentrating on technical efficiency. Thus, the reform proposal seeks to transform the existing system into a more flexible one. Mrs. Reding explained that there is a need to be able to identify spectrum bands with freedom of choice in technology and services. Nevertheless, this freedom must be contained by clear and strict pre-set limits to minimise interference. In this manner, responsibilities with regard risks and opportunities would lie within the investors and users of spectrum instead of the regulators. More flexibility is also needed with regard licensing. For this the EC is proposing the possibility for Member States (MS) to trade and lease spectrum both at national and EU-level. Mrs. Reding stressed that this would make the redistribution of spectrum more dynamic, as well as be an incentive for the releasing of un- or under-used spectrum. While the EC believes that spectrum trading will promote competition, it nevertheless acknowledges the fact that it may also create competition challenges.

Mrs. Reding sees an evolving nature of the regulatory framework and licensing regime as a prerequisite for the realisation of a wireless Europe. Thus, in addition to wanting to provide a flexible system that delivers an easier access to spectrum, she also advocates for a coordinated national licensing system. Currently the European terrestrial networks are focused on their national markets. While few operators have multinational operations, no truly pan-European network exists yet. However, both consumers and business that use mobile technologies also travel and cross MS boarders. This mobility should therefore be facilitated by regulation; otherwise the potential of new technologies cannot be realised and the competitiveness of the EU’s economy will be hindered. The greatly varying national licensing systems, if not coordinated, will have a negative impact on both internal and global competition. As concrete examples, Mrs. Reding mentioned the cases of Mobile Satellite Systems and Mobile Communication Services on Aircrafts, as they encompass a vision for cross-boarder/pan-European services.

As a final point, Mrs. Reding addressed the issue of the digital dividend. In her opinion, this will offer an opportunity to provide the needed wireless bandwidth to the European industry. If a coherent framework with shared objectives is adopted by MS, a win-win situation can be attained between the broadcasting and the wireless sectors. However, she expressed her concern for the lack of ambition from the part of several MS to tackle the digital dividend. Fast and ambitious actions are needed on the digital dividend in order to maintain and strengthen Europe’s competitiveness. In conclusion, Mrs. Reding highlighted that the reform of spectrum management is a cornerstone of the EC’s Telecom Package proposal, and that this legislative action alone could increase the EU GDP by 0.1%, in other words, by €12 billion annually.

For Commissioner Reding’s full speech, please click here.

To access the Telecom Package proposal, please click here.