of European policy for DTT over the coming 10-15 years. European policy is important as countries operating en bloc carry more influence at a WRC than countries acting unaligned. The revised report is expected to take account of delivery and consumption of media on demand via both wireless and fibre systems, alongside DTT. Both commercial and technical developments will be important. It has already been suggested that WRC27 might see moves to water down protection of DTT services, so we are planning to keep a close eye on discussions and manoeuvres leading up to WRC27 and WRC31. 5G Broadcast is another one to watch. It is a worldwide standard in ITU for broadcasting aimed at mobile devices, also using the 470 MHz to 694 MHz band. Tests have been carried out in Austria using IMT base stations and broadcast masts, but the commercial case for 5G television remains unclear: mobile operators cannot charge for receiving it; a strong case will be needed to persuade mobile phone manufacturers to develop new devices; and 5G Broadcast cannot be received by existing DTT receivers. It is said that death and taxes are the only certainties in life, but for the broadcast industry, I think we can add, “it will change”.
to be adaptable, or there would have to be a large number of different models.
In short, mobile base stations cannot operate in the same band as TV signals without very costly - and unproven - filters. In areas where the TV band is heavily used, it may not be possible to avoid co-channel interference into TV services at all. You may be wondering why mobile services have been given even secondary status in the TV band, when coexistence is so difficult. The answer is that some countries do not have a widely developed DTT system, and want the option to deploy mobile services instead. In Europe, two such countries are Finland and Sweden, but if they implement mobile services, they would still have to protect DTT in other territories, including the UK, although it is not clear at this stage whether their mobile services could affect UK TV reception at this distance. However, there is talk of developments in the medium term that might give rise for concern, such as the use of airborne platforms, or even satellites, as IMT base stations. In the longer term In 2014, a report to the European Commission by Pascal Lamy recommended the continuation of DTT until at least 2030. This report will be reviewed in 2024-25, and is likely to be influential in the development
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