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techUK welcomes new unit for public sector spectrum management
The central management unit will release more spectrum to boost productivity, safeguard critical services.
The Department for Culture, Media & Sport and HM Treasury have recently released the Terms of Reference for the new centralised management unit for public sector spectrum.
Announced in the Government's Productivity Plan Fixing the Foundations: Creating a more prosperous nation, which Julian David, CEO of techUK, welcomed, Government has implemented a new model for the centralised management of public sector spectrum.
Under this new model, a central management unit (CMU) will be set up in the Shareholder Executive. Advised by Ofcom, the CMU will produce a new target for sharing or release of spectrum currently used by the public sector, coordinate public sector spectrum changes that contribute to achieving the target, and set the spectrum fees payable by government bodies.
Commenting on the announcement of the central management unit, Raj Sivalingam, Executive Director, Telecoms and UK Spectrum Policy Forum said:
"We welcome this initiative to inject better co-ordination and strategic management of public sector spectrum. We of course recognise the many important public sector uses of spectrum - such as in defence, security and emergency services. Nevertheless, it is vital that such spectrum is effectively managed and used, and unused spectrum released in a timely manner for the ever increasing array of commercial wireless applications. Public Sector Departments need to have effective incentives to do this and the Central Management Unit has to have the right levers to effect change. Above all it is vital that, right from the beginning, consideration of candidate bands for release is undertaken in consultation with industry and taking account of international spectrum discussions."
Details of how this will work are outlined in Terms of Reference for Central Management of Public Sector Spectrum and in the following illustration:
More information is available for techUK's Communications Infrastructure Programme as well as the UK Spectrum Policy Forum, the industry-led sounding board to Ofcom and Government.
