Ten years ago, in 2004, Ad van Loon (Founder and Owner of X-Media Strategies) predicted the end of the broadcasting era. He argued that television programme services are only one out of many different types of electronic content services which, for their delivery to end users, depend on electronic communications networks as a transport medium. He explained that technology had made it possible to deliver electronic content services via any type of electronic communications network (terrestrial, satellite, cable, dsl, fibre). It can be expected that in the near future, the distinction between broadcasting services, voice telephony services and internet services will disappear entirely. What needs to be transported between end users and providers of different services are data. All different types of services basically rely on data; therefore, what is needed is the creation of networks and protocols which are capable of delivering data quickly, efficiently, securely and reliably via competing electronic communications networks. The network operator does not need to know which services are delivered through the data.
Given the above developments, it only makes sense that radio spectrum which was originally reserved for dedicated services (such as voice telephony or broadcasting) is slowly but surely going to be assigned for more general purposes, notably for wireless broadband communications.
The announcement by the European Commission of 13th January 2014 to establish an advisory panel on the future use of UHF spectrum for TV and wireless broadband should be seen in the light of this. The advisory panel will be chaired by Mr Pascal Lamy (former Head of the World Trade Organisation and former Member of the European Commission). For the questions to be addressed by the panel and a full list of members, click here.