The end of analogue broadcasting promises a great
boost to digital communications, says Gary Marshall
Britain’s
digital switchover will be completed this year, replacing analogue TV
transmissions with shiny digital ones. But there’s more to it than TV - it
should also mean better mobile services, especially mobile broadband.
We spoke to
Ofcom, whose spokesperson explained what the switchover means: “One of the
major benefits of digital broadcasts is that they are much more efficient than
analogue. This means you can fit many more digital channels into the space of
one analogue channel. This efficiency is freeing tip spectrum - both in the UK
and abroad. That is called the digital dividend.
The digital
dividend comes in three forms. Firstly, more efficient allocation of channels
means more choice of programming. Secondly, bandwidth for broadcasting enables
TV companies to offer additional services like interactive ‘red button’- style
options and additional content. Finally, spectrum that’s no longer needed can
be used for other things, like 4G mobile broadband, also known as LTE (Long
Term Evolution).
As Trefor
Davies, founder of communications provider Timico and council member of the
Internet Service Providers’ Association (ISPA), explains: “There are two chunks
of spectrum up for grabs - 2,600MHz and 800Mhz -
and the 800Mhz will not be available until the digital switchover is complete.
This is the more attractive license for mobile operators as lower frequencies
travel further and penetrate walls more easily hence fewer cell sites are
needed.
That’s the
good news. The bad news is that we’re lagging far behind our neighbours, most
of whom have had 4G networks for years. it looks like
the spectrum auction for this now won’t be until the end of 2012 at the
earliest, and this will make the UK the last of major European economies to do
so,” Davies says. Germany, Spain, Italy and France all managed to sort this out
in 20I0. Davies predicts that widespread 4G won’t be in place until 2015.
One reason
for the delay is that mobile operators have been arguing with one another,
leading Ofcom chief Ed Richards to accuse them of “gaining the system” and
“holding back innovation and hampering growth”.
If you’re
feeling cynical, you might wonder if there’s more to it than networks jockeying
for position. As Trefor Davies points out, they have a vested interest in
delaying the process because LTE could destroy their voice revenues if
consumers adopt services like Skype or Google Voice for their voice calls. “So
the number one source of revenue suddenly comes under threat and at the same
time they will need to spend tens of millions on rolling out new LTE
infrastructure.”
Ofcom is
adamant that the delays can’t continue much longer. This digital dividend will
be auctioned at the end of 2012 for next generation mobile services,” it told
us. So what will we actually get when 4G/LTE becomes widespread? The short
answer is better broadband, with higher bandwidth and better range - although
like all such claims, you should take promises of 100Mbps-plus with an enormous
pinch of salt, in the real world the network is likely to deliver more like 10
to 20Mbps to the end user, which will still be some way behind the latest
fibre-based fixed broadband but good enough to do most things people want to do
(like) streaming video and online gaming, Davies says. It’ll also make
cloud—based services, particularly media ones, feasible on mobile devices, and
in areas without fixed line broadband connections.
The
challenge for Ofcom is to ensure 4G isn’t something that’s only available in
cities. While rural areas would benefit most from it, they’re also the most
expensive areas to deliver the technology. “The mobile operators will want to
build their network around densely populated areas where they can see a quick
return on their investment,” Davies says. “(Rural broadband) will rely partly
on the conditions that Ofcom places on licence holders for the required level
of population coverage, and may require extra government funding to cover
specific communities - as is happening in the fixed-line market.”
