Consultation expected to highlight shortcomings of European 169MHz restrictions

The troubled 169 MHz band, once set aside for the failed ERMES pan-European paging system, is unlikely to be used for its new purposes either says UK regulator Ofcom.

The failure of the European Radio Messaging System (ERMES) became a central plank in the argument for spectrum liberalisation. A 1990 Directive required member states to set aside the 169.4 to 169.8 MHz band to create a pan-European market for this second generation digital paging system but ERMES never took off, killed by the rapid rise of GSM and its SMS capabilities. By the time the ERMES Directive was repealed in 2005 the reserved spectrum was no longer being used in most European countries. (See <a href=http://www.itu.int/osg/spu/stn/spectrum/workshop_proceedings/Background_Papers_Final/Ewan%20Sutherland%20-%20_itu_spectrum_revised.pdf>Ewan Sutherland paper</a> p8-10)

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