EBU and ABU call for global action to protect TV spectrum

EBU President Jean-Paul Philippot, Director General Ingrid Deltenre & ABU Secretary General Javad Mottaghi

The European Broadcasting Union (EBU) and the Asia-Pacific Broadcasting Union (ABU) have called for global action to protect TV spectrum space and guarantee “the future of broadcasting.”

Speaking at the 50th Anniversary Annual Assembly of the ABU this week, EBU Director General Ingrid Deltenre said that DTT remained the “backbone to public TV access” for 250 million Europeans.

“We cannot allow the mobile industry’s insatiable appetite for spectrum resources to highjack this precious resource,” she said.

ABU secretary general, Javad Mottaghi said that terrestrial TV also plays an essential service in regional areas of Asia Pacific.

“Terrestrial broadcasting remains a crucial tool in emergency situations. It is often the only technology which continues to function and can reach a mass audience despite difficult external conditions,” he said.

“Terrestrial television is the cornerstone of the broadcast industry and its survival is essential to the region’s people.”

Both the EBU and ABU have been working to try and illustrate the efficiency of modern DTT networks and the strong demand for DTT services, and argue that spectrum assignments currently reserved for DTT should not change.