GSMA Applauds Governments' Actions to Establish a Harmonised Approach to Spectrum Allocation in South East Europe

GSMA Applauds Governments' Actions to Establish a Harmonised Approach to Spectrum Allocation in South East Europe

LONDON, June 16, 2010/PRNewswire/ -- The GSMA today announced that it welcomes an initiative driven by the
Serbian Ministry of Telecommunications and Information Society to develop a
unified approach to the allocation of 'digital dividend' spectrum - the
spectrum that will be freed up by the switchover from analogue to digital TV
- in South East Europe. The Ministry today hosted a Ministerial Summit on the
digital dividend in Belgrade attended by regulatory bodies and government
delegations from states in South Eastern Europe including Albania, Bosnia &
Herzegovina, Bulgaria, Croatia, Greece, Hungary, Macedonia, Poland, Romania,
Slovenia and Turkey.

"The region of South East Europe lies on the borders of the European
Union and achieving harmonised use of spectrum is important to the growth of
the telecoms market and the wider economic well-being of the countries in
it," said Martin Whitehead, Director of GSMA Europe. "A cohesive regional
approach from EU member states and their neighbours in South East Europe will
maximise the affordability of telecommunications services in the area. We are
delighted that Minister Matic and the Serbian Ministry have taken a lead on
this issue by bringing together key nations from across the region to discuss
and encourage a unified approach to spectrum harmonisation."

"South Eastern Europe holds countries with wide economic and cultural
variety," said Minister Jasna Matic of the Serbian Ministry of
Telecommunications and Information Society. "Our corner of the world also
holds EU member states, candidate states and other potential members of the
European Union. It is vital that we work together to ensure our citizens have
the best possible access to communications services. As we move into the next
decade, the digital dividend forms a vital opportunity to give more
affordable access to more people, and lower the digital divide."

The objective of the meeting was to discuss how best to maximise the
economic and social benefits promised by the digital dividend in South East
Europe. Allocating some of the digital dividend to Mobile Broadband will
increase Internet penetration and have a significant positive economic impact
by driving innovation, job creation, productivity and competitiveness.
However, harmonisation of the spectrum on a regional basis is needed to drive
down handset and network equipment costs and make Mobile Broadband affordable
to consumers.

Background

The characteristics of the low-frequency digital dividend spectrum in the
790-862MHz band mean that it is ideally suited to the roll out of Mobile
Broadband in rural areas. This is of core importance in South East Europe
where population density is typically lower than in other parts of Europe.
The region's position on the borders of the EU also makes coordination
between states more complex and the high number of multiple border issues
threatens to complicate coordination further.

Harmonisation of digital dividend spectrum throughout Europe is an
important element in the greater spectrum debate, as the mobile industry
currently faces an urgent need for more spectrum to accommodate significant
increases in Mobile Broadband usage. Extending coverage to rural areas and
ensuring that the 'digital divide' between town and country is lowered is
also a vital element of EU policy. Work on the digital dividend must continue
to ensure universal connectivity.

Digital Dividend in Serbia Research

The summit in Serbia also saw the release of a new piece of research from
analysts Europe Economics, which estimated the potential value of the digital
dividend that will become available to Serbia when it ceases the transmission
of analogue TV signals. The research found that if digital dividend spectrum
is allocated to uses other than broadcasting, such as Mobile Broadband
deployment, the net present value could increase by between EUR572 million
and EUR950 million.

The full report can be found at http;//www.gsmworld.com/digitaldividend

About the GSMA

The GSMA represents the interests of the worldwide mobile communications
industry. Spanning 219 countries, the GSMA unites nearly 800 of the world's
mobile operators, as well as more than 200 companies in the broader mobile
ecosystem, including handset makers, software companies, equipment providers,
Internet companies, and media and entertainment organisations. The GSMA is
focused on innovating, incubating and creating new opportunities for its
membership, all with the end goal of driving the growth of the mobile
communications industry.

For more information, please visit Mobile World Live, the new online
portal for the mobile communications industry, at
http://www.mobileworldlive.com or the GSMA corporate website at
http://www.gsmworld.com.

Source: GSMA

GSMA, Paul Nolan, +44-7717-723-440, press@gsm.org

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