The recent terrorist attacks in London and Madrid revealed the limits of European national communication systems as regards facing massive emergencies. Mobile networks collapsed due to the concentration of phone calls. Not only were ordinary citizens prevented from calling their loved ones, but the emergency services also suffered major communication problems.
The shortfalls registered in Spain and Britain were a consequence of the scarce radio spectrum available for police and ambulances, according to the authors of a study entitled 'Safety First' and commissioned by Motorola and EADS, the top providers of communication technologies for emergency services in the EU.
At the moment, EU public safety authorities have just two blocks of 5 MHz (MegaHeartz) at their disposal to provide their services. But the study argues that in some cities the system is "already operating at full capacity" and calls for the current allocation to be tripled to two blocks of 15 MHz. This would allow for remote checking, sharing of images and videos, increased surveillance systems and quicker data transmissions.
The portion of the radio spectrum considered useful for emergency services is between 400 MHZ and 800 MHz, part of the so-called UHF - the most coveted share of frequencies. Televisions and mobile operators are already fighting hard to get the highest possible amount of this scarce resource.
But public safety service providers and suppliers' plans are not only at odds with alternative spectrum users, but also with the Commission strategy, which aims to increase the efficient use of the spectrum. Brussels believes this goal can only be achieved by getting rid of the current system of fixed allocations of frequencies, which tend not to be fully used.
The Commission favours a flexible approach based on a spectrum trading system and auctions to distribute the scarce resource. It further says that new technological developments will increase the efficiency of frequency use.
