Communications regulator plans to provide extra spectrum to telecommunications companies as part of all-island initiative aimed at developing innovative broadband and 3G services, writes Eamon McGrane.
With telcos at each others' throats over such things as unbundling the local loop for DSL access, and mobile operators scratching their heads on stemming declining revenues, the communications regulator ComReg may have come up with an answer that has, in fact, been there all the time - spectrum, or, more pointedly, the release of extra spectrum.
Simply put, spectrum is the amount of space on different frequencies that is available for electronic communications services. We use specific and licensed areas of spectrum to tune in to radios and television and access the internet wirelessly.
While broadcasting and mobile telephony are undoubtedly some of the bigger and better known users of spectrum, it's the internet service providers (ISPs) and mobile operators that will really benefit from the availability of extra spectrum.
Spectrum is considered a national resource and the Republic's spare frequencies, luckily, are not as traffic-laden as some of our European neighbours.
In May 2005, ComReg launched a new licensing regime for radio service and technology trials that, it claims, has brought the Republic to the forefront as an ideal location for spectrum research and development.
Speaking on the sidelines of last week's ComReg/OECD conference on spectrum management, the chairwoman of ComReg, Isolde Goggin, said that releasing more spectrum represented a huge opportunity for the Republic because we don't have the same restraints as other countries such as multiple borders and high population densities.
With the US and other European countries switching from analogue to digital, the Republic is well positioned to reap the benefits.
"There's more pressure coming on spectrum as a resource because, for instance, of mobile telephony usage. We need to open new bands and to use existing bands more flexibly and this is an area for Ireland where we have huge opportunity because we don't have the same amount of pressure as other countries due to the fact that we're a small island nation that doesn't have to co-ordinate with other bordering countries. Germany, for example, has 10 bordering nations."
Goggin says ComReg wants to push the Republic as a test bed for people to develop innovative uses of spectrum. She points to work being carried out by Dr Linda Doyle, research leader at the Centre of Telecommunications Value-chain Research at Trinity College, whose team is testing technology that can intelligently hop frequencies to reside in a space where a signal is available.
In terms of broadband, ComReg has already started releasing spectrum, auctioning some small portions last year. While there are numerous fixed wireless operators in the country, the regulator said the next stage of development here would be supplying broadband with higher bandwidth and mobile broadband.
The project is an all-island initiative, with the regulator working with its counterpart, Offcom, in the UK. "We want to have a co-ordinated all-island approach to licensing," said Goggin. "In July, we hope to launch a licence competition for spectrum in the 1,800 Mhz band. This is a very interesting area of spectrum to anyone who wants to deliver broadband or mobile services.
"We're doing it on a technologically neutral basis, so we're basically leaving it to the market to decide what it is they want to use it for the ideal solution is that the same operator wins the licence in Northern Ireland and the Republic and we then have a nicely integrated approach." ComReg will then turn its attention to the 26 GHz frequency, which has significant bandwidth available and is ideal for providing high bandwidth services. "Again, we're doing that on a technology and service neutral basis. We think it'll be of interest to the mobile operators who'll be able to use it for infrastructure - for example, building out the 3G networks and also for offering wireless broadband over short distances with very high capacity."
As the regulator begins to free up extra spectrum, it is also taking more of a hands-off policy to the operators. While it once had a "command and control" approach, it is now leaning towards a "create and plan" model, letting market forces dictate what spectrum needs to be freed and who should get it.
"Yes, we're moving more towards market mechanisms for making spectrum available," said Jim Connolly, senior spectrum manager at ComReg. "While in the past we would control what happened, now if there's an excess in demand for spectrum, we would tend to go with a market approach and auction.
"It will be available on a technology and service neutral basis - whoever buys it, it's up to them how they use it. However, we may still have to approach them over certain boundaries in which they operate."
To nudge the forces of the market, the regulator has been taking a variety of approaches to stimulate demand and to lower barriers to entry, including making unlicensed spectrum available for no fee as it seeks to facilitate people entering the market.
The increase in spectrum may also soothe the nerves of those waiting for local loop unbundling (LLU), as the possibilities of more wireless broadband opens up.
Around 30 per cent of broadband in Ireland is currently supplied via wireless setups. Unbundling Eircom's exchanges for DSL broadband access has been a controversial stumbling block between Eircom, ComReg and the other operators trying to access the exchanges. Eircom, the incumbent, has also has been sitting on its national wireless licence.
So, will ComReg be able to take some of that unused spectrum back? According to Connolly, the regulator is about to start discussions with Eircom on that issue. "We'll be looking at what Eircom is using that spectrum for and ascertaining if there's scope for taking some of it back and making it available for those who really need it."
