This year’s FCS Business Radio event attracted a record attendance by mobile radio suppliers
As in previous years, the day began with presentations on a variety of current mobile radio topics, followed by round-table workshop sessions for various specialized interests.
Supported by increased industry sponsorship, this year’s FCS Business Radio event attracted a record attendance by mobile radio suppliers. As in previous years, the day began with presentations on a variety of current mobile radio topics, followed by round-table workshop sessions for various specialized interests. All around were exhibition stands featuring many of the big names in mobile radio, demonstrating their latest products and services. For 2012, a highlight was the appearance of DMR Tier III trunked radio products from several leading suppliers.
Heading the programme of speakers was Chris Pateman, who took over as chief executive of the federation back in June. “I am the new Jacqui Brookes”, he explained, modestly, in a salute to his predecessor.
Running through some current activities at the FCS - including progress with its FITAS accreditation programme for installation technicians, and concerns such as the Communications Act, a new EU regulatory framework and the revised WEEE Directive - he quickly came to Ofcom’s imminent 4G auctions and the wider challenge of securing a continued supply of spectrum to sustain growth in mobile radio.
Here he took issue with the consultants Analsys Mason, who had assessed the value of the radio spectrum to the UK economy in a report for the Department for Culture, Media and Sport, newly published. “It is incredibly detailed”, he commented. “It runs to about 120 pages and it’s an interesting snapshot not only of where the industry is but also of the kind of thinking which is being fed to policymakers.”
‘Auction mentality’
On the screen he showed a table from the report, in which various categories of spectrum use were listed by their ‘net present value’. Mobile phones were at the top, at £273 billion. “Here’s PMR at the bottom”, he said; “£19.2 billion. You’d think that was pretty cool, they’d be interested in that.”
Nevertheless, in the Executive Summary he found these incendiary words: “Spectrum is a finite resource, similar to property”. “Well, that’s fine then”, Mr Pateman responded, with rhetorical irony. “We’ll just go out and build some more spectrum and we won’t have any congestion problems, will we?
“Spectrum is absolutely not a finite resource similar to property”, he protested, passionately. “Spectrum is a finite resource which is not remotely similar to property. But this is the kind of stuff that policymakers think; this is the kind of stuff that drives this auction mentality. This is the kind of stuff that we, as an industry, need to understand is what is being put in front of policymakers.”
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Source: Landmobile
