Fourth Meeting of the ASEAN Spectrum Policy Forum (ASPF-‐4) READI's 'ASEAN Spectrum Policy Forum' provides Framework for EU and ASEAN to discuss a common approach to the digital dividend and bands for wireless broadband Bandar Seri Begawan (Brunei Darussalam), 7 March 2014 -‐ The ASEAN in cooperation with the European Union held today the fourth meeting of the ASEAN Spectrum Policy Forum (ASPF-‐4) in Bandar Seri Begawan in co-‐location with the ASEAN Telecommunication Regulators’ Council (ATRC) Meeting (March 4-‐6). This 4th meeting -‐ facilitated by the Regional EU-‐ASEAN Dialogue Instrument (READI) -‐ focused on the digital dividend and bands for wireless broadband Attended by over 50 delegates from the ASEAN and the EU regions, the workshop welcomed the attendance of special guests such as Hj Yahkup Hj Menudin (Chief Executive Authority for Info-‐communications Technology Industry, AITI Brunei), Doan Quang Hoan (Director General of ARFM and SSM chair, Viet Nam), Ruprecht Niepold (Adviser to the Director-‐General, DG CONNECT, European Commission), Budi Yuwono (Senior Officer, Infrastructure Division, Economic Community Department, ASEAN Secretariat), and key experts in the Spectrum Management field: Amit Nagpal (Partner, Aetha Consulting, UK), Jim Connolly (Senior Spectrum Advisor, ComReg, Ireland), Paulo Marques (Senior Researcher, Instituto de Telecomunicações, Portugal) and Emilio Calvanese Strinati (Director of Telecommunications and Smart Devices Strategic Programs, CEA-‐LETI, France). The workshop was co-‐chaired by Mr. Ruprecht Niepold and Mr. Doan Quang Hoan. The ASPF-‐4 workshop aimed at sharing knowledge on the latest developments in the ASEAN Member States and the European Union with a view to sustain the momentum of ASEAN Member States in making further progress on the harmonisation of frequency bands to support the growth of wireless broadband services. Building on earlier discussions (ASPF-‐1, ASPF-‐2, Study Tour) and in order to offer a comprehensive review of spectrum resources for Wireless Broadband, the ASPF-‐4 meeting participants discussed the following themes: § Update on digital dividend plans in the ASEAN region and in Europe and the future use of the UHF spectrum currently used for broadcasting, including examining the potential of the 700MHz and the 800MHz band for Wireless Broadband and assessing the potential of converged broadcast-‐mobile distribution platforms § Candidate bands for Wireless Broadband beyond UHF, i.e. including the 1.5GHz, 2.3GHz, 2.6GHz and 3.4-‐3.8GHz bands and possibly bands beyond 6GHz § Licence-‐exempt spectrum used for Wireless Broadband: usage prospects and impact on band planning (2.4GHz, 5GHz) The main issues were introduced and discussed through presentations from both ASEAN and EU speakers. Prior to the workshop, an Issue Paper (providing background on the latest developments in each of the above areas was circulated to participants. The workshop strived to reach a consensus across the ASEAN Member States on a series of recommendations applicable to each of the main topics discussed, which constitute the formal ‘output’ of the workshop: § Future use of UHF -‐ The Forum recognised the advantages of making the digital dividend available as early as possible and recommended that member states seek to adopt to the APT-‐700 band plan for wireless broadband use. The Forum also noted the latest developments in the EU and recommended that ASEAN member states also consider the long-‐term future usage of the UHF band including the option to allocate 800MHz for wireless broadband. The Forum recommended to start a strategic discussion on the future of broadcasting and broadband services in the light of convergence and its impact on spectrum needs. § Additional licensed spectrum bands for wireless broadband -‐ The Forum called on member states to study the amount of additional spectrum below 6GHz likely to be needed by 2020 and recommended that ASEAN and the EU continue to exchange information on potential new bands to help achieve consensus at WRC-‐15. Specific recommendations were made in respect of the 1.5GHz, 2.3GHz and 2.6GHz bands. The Forum recommended to identify bands above 6GHz for the use of wireless broadband in the light of 5G concepts currently discussed. § Licence-‐exempt spectrum for wireless broadband -‐ The Forum noted the contribution of wireless broadband access over license-‐exempt band (such as WiFi) and the importance of common global frequency bands and equipment standards. The Forum recommended that ASEAN member states study the possibility of making a large contiguous spectrum footprint available on a licence-‐ exempt basis in the 5GHz band. The Forum also recommended greater co-‐operation between ASEAN and the EU on policy and specifications for white space applications. Regional EU-‐ASEAN Dialogue Instrument (READI) ASEAN Secretariat, 70A Jl. Sisingamangaraja, Jakarta 12110 – Indonesia n Phone: +62 21 726 2991 n Fax: +62 21 739 8234 n [email protected] Karine Valin n READI/ICT Key Expert n [email protected] n www.readi.asean.org/activities/information-‐communication-‐technology