Commission unveils proposals to allow GSM refarming

The European Commission has published proposals to repeal the GSM Directive and allow the 900MHz and 1800MHz bands to be used by next generation wireless services.

Mobile operators have been keen to re-use the frequencies which under the 1987 GSM Directive were allocated exclusively to what was to become the dominant mobile phone standard. The announcement has been widely anticipated and France has already planned out the use of the bands for 3G services. These lower frequencies have better propagation characteristics than the higher bands currently used for 3G services. They require fewer base stations which means networks can be rolled out more cheaply. The industry anticipates as 40% reduction in costs.

Read the full details at:

http://www.policytracker.com/alerts.php?tact=591