The digitalization of terrestrial TV networks offers a historic opportunity to use the freed-up UHF (ultra-high frequency) band for more efficient TV transmissions; this, in turn, will lead to new beneficial and more profitable uses in this band. The now-available spectrum for mobile usage varies between countries and regions, but amounts to approximately 100MHz.

Historically, the ITU, a United Nations body, makes the major international spectrum decisions. For example, in 1992, the 2.1GHz "core bands" that are now stimulating mobile industry growth were identified for IMT-2000 applications, says Lasse Wieweg, Director, Government & Industry Relations at Ericsson.

Wieweg says the identified spectrum is critical for service providers to meet the projected demand for mobile broadband services. Service providers will be able to reduce costs further and use more efficient technologies to bring innovation and make equipment simpler, he says.

"This means they can provide advanced and affordable services to consumers," he says.

It usually takes many years between the identification of spectrum in the ITU and any actual commercial use. The next few years therefore provide an opportunity for Ericsson and other industry stakeholders to work at regional and national level with regulators and other bodies on approval of spectrum arrangements within the identified UHF band, Wieweg says.

The new spectrum can help pave the way for a truly global, mobile digital society - bridging the digital divide between rural and urban areas - and enable the next generation of mobile networks and services to be introduced to everyone, he says.

"We will see media-oriented services other than voice, such as music, mobile TV, the internet and more," he says. "Those service providers interested in mobile broadband and new media- and information-based services need to take this into consideration in their planning and start to influence national regulators to enable favorable spectrum arrangements for the licensing of the new spectrum."

The three ITU regions - Americas, Asia-Pacific, and EMEA - now have an opportunity to devise solutions that will create the greatest possible global harmonization of this spectrum, allowing for technologies and standards that can have a profound impact on economies of scale and service availability.

As Wieweg says: "Harmonization of this precious spectrum will be of limited use for mobile broadband applications if it is allocated for incompatible and fragmented usages."

He adds that global harmonization of enough bandwidth at the right time will make the difference for sound service-provider business models.