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November 6, 2012

EU to free up 120 MHz of radio spectrum for 4G technologies

European Commission has made it mandatory for member states to free up the spectrum by 30 June 2014

By CBR Staff Writer

The European Commission has decided make available another 120 MHz to the radio spectrum for 4G technologies, such as LTE (Long Term Evolution), around the 2 GHz band.

The spectrum will be added by freeing up spectrum from UMTS (Universal Mobile Telecommunications System) or 3G networks.

European Commission has made it mandatory for member states to free up the spectrum by 30 June 2014.

The paired terrestrial 2 GHz band (1920-1980 MHz paired with 2110-2170 MHz) is currently being used for 3G services since 1999.

Additional spectrum will allow EU member countries to enjoy up to twice the amount of spectrum for high speed wireless broadband as enjoyed by the US which is around1000 MHz.

European Commission vice president Neelie Kroes said the extra spectrum for 4G in Europe means will help in meeting the changing and growing demand for broadband.

"I want to see Member States acting swiftly to change existing licenses. We all win from faster wireless connections in Europe," Kroes said.

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European Commission cites industry study which predicts that global mobile data traffic will increase by 26 % per year by 2015 with more than 7 billion phones, tablets and other mobile devices getting connected to Internet.

The commission expects that additional spectrum will provide greater access to 4G technologies, meeting its garget of universal EU broadband coverage of at least 30 Mb/s by 2020.

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