Local view for "http://purl.org/linkedpolitics/eu/plenary/2007-02-13-Speech-2-307"
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"en.20070213.21.2-307"2
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"Madam President, firstly I would like to thank all the people who shared their knowledge and expertise with me when I was preparing this report. I would particularly like to thank the Commission for its generous help, as well as my colleagues, the shadows from the other groups, for their very constructive and cooperative suggestions.
To take one example, we face the challenge in the EU of stopping a rift opening up between the internet haves and the internet have-nots. One easy way to roll out internet access to the poorest regions of our poorest countries would be by way of wireless broadband, taking advantage of some of the broadcasting frequencies freed up by the switch from analogue to digital broadcasting, the digital dividend.
I use this as just one example of why we need to affirm our commitment to services of public and general interest, but also as an example of why we must not treat the frequencies currently used by broadcasting as somehow untouchable. We need to make the most of opportunities to provide services in new ways by new technologies and to more people than at present. And it is vital to support the growth of a knowledge-based economy in Europe. So, it is important to open up the possibility of more flexible use across the whole of the radio spectrum without ruling out certain frequencies.
Finally, I welcome the amendment tabled by the PSE Group, which serves as a balanced summary of the key issues at stake.
The basic theme of the report is that the current method of managing radio spectrum is no longer adequate in the face of constantly emerging new technologies. These new technologies need to make use of radio spectrum, but the quantity of radio spectrum will always be limited simply by the laws of physics, so we have to find ways of making sure that this precious resource is used as efficiently as possible.
Policy on radio spectrum may sound like an obscure matter of no interest to the citizen on the street, but the end result of that policy is of fundamental interest because it is a question of jobs and economic growth. If we fail to reform our approach to radio spectrum, we are failing European industry, which is poised to become a global leader in communications technology. All the innovation that the industry is coming forward with will fail to develop properly if no spectrum is available and if the industry is blocked from operating across the European market of 500 million people.
The Lisbon Agenda is the driving force behind the new approach to spectrum. But there is also the need for Europe to be forward looking in the way it makes services of public and general interest available. I will come back to that in a minute.
First, I should like to say a few words about the changes proposed. At present, spectrum is managed on an administrative command and control model whereby certain frequencies are allocated to certain specific uses. The report argues that this administrative model needs to be supplemented now by a more flexible approach which would include more unlicensed use of spectrum and the tool of spectrum trading.
An essential element of this more flexible approach is that spectrum should be made available without conditions being attached as to the service to be provided or the technology to be used. In other words, the market-based element of spectrum management would be service- and technology-neutral.
This freeing-up of spectrum would clearly raise issues for existing users, such as the question of potential interference. It is therefore very important that the changes take place within a clear legal framework and with pre-established dispute resolution mechanisms.
In several places, paragraphs 11, 13 and so on, the report emphasises the importance of maintaining services of public and general interest and supporting cultural and linguistic diversity. It is important not to get this political commitment mixed up with the technical issue of how such services ought to be delivered.
I believe it would be a big mistake to ring-fence the frequencies currently used by broadcasting services by insisting on their exclusion from any new approach to spectrum management. That is because we would actually be damaging our ability to support a broad range of socially useful services if we insisted that the delivery mechanism for providing those services remained exactly the same, frozen in time at the very period when all other uses of spectrum are evolving very rapidly."@en1
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