The issue of how to use the frequencies freed up by the implementation of DTT in Africa will soon take center stage in Africa, and it is beginning with an unexpected first episode.
During the preparatory discussions for the 2023 World Radiocommunication Conference organized by the International Telecommunication Union and scheduled to be held in November 2023 in Abu Dhabi, (WRC), it was suggested that item 1.5 on the agenda be discussed, which proposes "that a co-primary allocation for the mobile service in the 470-694 MHz band in Region 1 be introduced in parallel with the current primary allocation for the broadcasting service." "
This suggestion would consist of authorizing telecom operators in Africa—which would thus be the only region in the world in this situation—to access UHF frequencies previously allocated solely to DTT (the 470-694 MHz band).
According to participants at the last UAR general assembly, the minutes of which were published this week, "sharing these frequencies with telecom operators would significantly affect access to information in certain regions of the continent without significantly changing the coverage of telephone operators."
They asked the African Broadcasting Union (ABU) to challenge this proposal and defend the "no change" position at WRC23 in order to retain these frequencies for its sole use.
The lowest UHF frequencies (those used for digital television) are of great interest to telecom operators because they have better range and good penetration of obstacles, even if their data rate tends to be lower. Economically, this makes it possible to limit the number of repeaters if we accept that the data rate quality is lower.
However, frequencies have already been freed up by analog television for the benefit of telecoms (Dividend 1: 790-862 MHz and Dividend 2: 694-790 MHz for Africa), but these have not yet been used. No country has issued a call for applications for these frequencies, even though the optimization of the frequency spectrum desired and promoted by telecom operators was one of the main reasons for abandoning analog television.
These already freed-up frequencies have better characteristics in terms of quality and, above all, speed. Furthermore, these waves pass through concrete (essential for covering urban areas) and are very useful in sparsely populated areas, as they provide good coverage with a limited number of antennas.
Some African countries that have completed or are about to complete the digital transition could issue calls for tenders to sell these frequencies to the highest bidder, although it seems that for different reasons, neither governments nor operators really want this.
In France, the sale of frequencies freed up by analog television and reserved for telecom operators (above 694 MHz) – known as "golden frequencies" – has brought in more than €3.6 billion for the French government and equivalent sums in other major European countries.
The current episode shows that, as is often the case, decisions taken at the global level under pressure from the most developed countries come up against the specific nature of the African continent, which is far from having the same needs or the same possibilities.