
The Future of the UHF Band
Training Focus
The UHF frequency range (400 – 960 MHz) hosts a wide variety of services including PMR, broadcasting (and PMSE), low-power devices and mobile services. Agenda item 1.5 of the 2023 World Radiocommunication Conference will examine part of this frequency range, with a view to deciding, for Region 1, how the band should be shared between these services in the future. In some countries, digital terrestrial broadcasting is widespread whereas some are considering, or already have, turned their terrestrial broadcasting services off. In yet others, the transition from analogue to digital is not yet complete.
Course Objectives
Against this backdrop of broadcasting, the mobile industry has already identified a new band at 600 MHz and it may be expected that they would be more than willing to soak up any additional spectrum in the UHF frequency range were it to become available. Other users are also keen to hang on to the spectrum they use and also, in some cases, may have good reason to expand their usage.
Intended for
This course is suitable for regulators, and for anyone whose business relies on UHF spectrum and who wish to understand how current machinations may impact their future. A basic knowledge of radio spectrum would be useful, together with some understanding of the international spectrum management regulatory structure.
Contents
- Identify all the users of the UHF frequency range, including the technologies and typical deployment scenarios
- Discuss the future of terrestrial broadcasting and its role in the connected future
- Explore the existing mobile bands in the frequency range and look at future demand
- Examine whether convergence might lead to new services which meet the needs of multiple users
- Hypothesise what the future of the UHF band may look like and the road to achieving this
Duration
1 day