Mobile broadband spectrum shortage requires immediate action – International Chamber of Commerce

The International Chamber of Commerce (ICC) is calling on governments and regulators to accelerate efforts to allocate and assign adequate spectrum to support the ever-increasing demand for mobile broadband.

According to the ICC, mobile broadband spectrum allocation is insufficient for the growing traffic demands hence an immediate government action is necessary in countries and multilateral institutions.

The body made this known in a discussion paper developed by its Task Force on Internet and Telecoms Infrastructure and Services (IT IS) at a forum in Paris, France expressing “concern about the strain on spectrum supply to meet the demand created by the growing number of subscribers and machine-to-machine technologies, and by the increasing consumption of voice minutes and data capacity.”

Eric Loeb, Chair of IT IS, according to a statement on ICC’s website was quoted as saying, “The skyrocketing uptake of 3G services and mobile devices is already putting tremendous pressure on the current spectrum allocations. As 4G adoption kicks in widely, that pressure will substantially increase – this entirely predictable spectrum shortage needs to be tackled as a priority today.”

The ICC paper called on governments and regulators to globally harmonize spectrum, reduce equipment costs and facilitate roaming, saving consumers money and promoting the deployment of new technologies and services.

Licensing regimes that include mobile network operators that manage scarce spectrum, as well as mobile resale licenses, will encourage competition, a technology-neutral approach and the efficient use of the spectrum, it added.

By Ekow Quandzie