GSMA WELCOMES BALTIC GOVERNMENTS COMMITMENT TO HARMONISING SECOND DIGITAL DIVIDEND FOR MOBILE BROADBAND

London: John Giusti, Deputy Chief Regulatory Officer, GSMA, commented on the outcome of the Baltic Sea Summit regarding the Second Digital Dividend (700MHz band), which took place in Helsinki today:

The GSMA applauds the Finnish Ministry of Communications for spearheading a unified approach to the allocation of 700MHz spectrum for mobile broadband in the Baltic Sea region. With mobile data traffic rising rapidly, we welcome the commitment by the governments of Estonia, Finland, Latvia, Lithuania and Sweden to meet the broadband needs of their citizens by accelerating the reallocation of the 700MHz band to mobile services.

The 700MHz spectrum band has ideal characteristics for mobile broadband, offering good geographic coverage, improved in-building reach and availability in large enough blocks for efficient delivery of mobile services. Freeing up this spectrum for mobile will expand access to 4G networks across the continent, with 83 per cent of the European population expected to have 4G access by 20201.

Mobile broadband brings substantial social and economic benefits to the citizens and businesses of Europe, increasing GDP contribution and boosting employment. The drive for EU-wide harmonisation of this Second Digital Dividend will further enable economies of scale, allowing manufacturers to mass-produce devices that function in multiple countries on the same band2.

During treaty negotiations at the World Radiocommunication Conference in 2012 (WRC-12), it was agreed that the 700MHz band would be made available for mobile services in Region 13 after WRC-15, which takes place next month. We trust that this agreement amongst the Baltic governments will pave the way for the deployment of a second wave of Digital Dividend bandwidth across Europe and bring us a step closer to achieving the targets of the Digital Agenda.

-ENDS-

Notes to Editors

1 Source: The Mobile Economy Europe 2014

2 Following assignment of spectrum in the 800MHz Digital Dividend band across Europe

3 International Telecommunication Union (ITU) Region 1 comprises Europe, the Middle East and Africa

About the GSMA

The GSMA represents the interests of mobile operators worldwide, uniting nearly 800 operators with more than 250 companies in the broader mobile ecosystem, including handset and device makers, software companies, equipment providers and internet companies, as well as organisations in adjacent industry sectors. The GSMA also produces industry-leading events such as Mobile World Congress, Mobile World Congress Shanghai and the Mobile 360 Series conferences.

For more information, please visit the GSMA corporate website at www.gsma.com. Follow the GSMA on Twitter: .

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