Spectrum Policy Programme Amendments

On April 12th, 2011, the ITRE committee of the EU Parliament will adopt amendments to the First Spectrum Policy Programme, proposed by the European Commission.

Through these amendments, Members of the Parliament will have an opportunity to boost wireless Internet access. By encouraging shared and unlicensed uses of the spectrum, EU lawmakers can create the next generation of public networks that will improve access to the Internet in urban as well as rural communities, and launch the next wave of innovation in mobile communications.As the United-States moves towards opening white-spaces to unlicensed uses to create a new generation of broadband wireless networks, Europe risks lagging behind if it does not follow the same path.

Generally speaking, amendments have been graded to push such a reform of spectrum management, based on the following viewpoints:
 * Support for unlicensed uses of the spectrum, cognitive technologies and mesh networking (all form the basis of decentralized and open public networks we're calling for).
 * Support for detailed information and transparent policy-making, in particular regarding the upcoming spectrum inventory.
 * Scepticism regarding trading rights of spectrum use, considering that spectrum is a commons and not a property.
 * Scepticism towards amendments that insist on the necessity to avoid interferences between different spectrum uses. Such language risks chilling the development of innovative uses. In the U.S, the "interference" argument was used by broadcasters to oppose the opening of white-spaces to unlicensed uses.
 * Hostility towards pro-broadcasters amendments regarding the use of spectrum for few-to-many communications systems (even though this is justified in the short term, it needs not be overstated in this spectrum policy programme).