On June 11, 2025, the following draft European Resolution has been filed with the presidency of France’s Assemblée Nationale:
https://www.assemblee-nationale.fr/dyn/17/textes/l17b1568_proposition-resolution-europeenne.pdf
For the 70+ MPs behind this bold initiative, it is all about “securing the post-2030 allocation to Digital Terrestrial Television (DTT) of the below 700 MHz frequency band.”
The general comments below explain why this wake-up call on the part of the country that has always been championing culture is worth the attention of fellow member States. Let’s hope that this proposition will have long legs.
Time to support the continuing allocation of infra-700 MHz spectrum to DTT is now: not only is this initiative timely, it is a rare, well thought-out, thoroughly-documented contribution to the upcoming debate on preparing the EU position regarding WRC-31.
However, the characterization of spectrum-sharing as “difficult” may prove a bit too pessimistic. Indeed, PMSE has become the European youth’s preferred way to experience music: on addressing this definite trend, DTT and PMSE have a straight, robust record of smooth, effective and enduring cooperation. In all fairness, PMSE and broadcasting industries can be portrayed as the unsung heroes of harmonious, interference-free frequency sharing. Some will argue that PMSE is to European music what video games are to European entertainment. If true, this comparison holds pretty big hopes as European game developers are still very much on top of the global race for creativity and innovation. This is assuming that PMSE will stop having to wage rear-guard battles to contain the next “digital dividend” aggression planned by IMT into the 470-694 MHz UHF band: European culture would be silenced for good.
This is because, as reflected in the French draft European Resolution, culture walks in lockstep with technology. It held true in the halcyon days of ancient Greece that coined the word “techne” (https://fr.wikipedia.org/wiki/Technè)
It rings even more true on considering how music is created, enjoyed and distributed across our data-driven societies. The French Parliament’s draft European Resolution is a testament to what modern-day culture feeds on and how it develops. This quiet, longstanding cooperation between techies and artists bodes well for the future. Indeed, it helped considerably to keep European culture at the top of the EU agenda (until war struck, that is) and more importantly perhaps, to secure Europe’s unchallenged position as a global leader in “rayonnement culturel”. As a collateral upside of walking down this path, there is no need to reinvent the wheel: national governments and EU institutions only have to help the DTT-PMSE informal tandem to resist the next unprovoked invasion by IMT in the 470-694 MHz band.
Flagging the role of DTT in keeping European culture and entertainment alive is certainly a well-warranted, major step forward. As it happens, Europe’s less well-known – perhaps a reflection of its usually local dimension – PMSE industry has all it takes to reinforce the excellent points made by this bold piece of draft legislation. Besides, it may shore up the ‘youth’ side of this advocacy, making it more balanced and compelling, even to those countries that are taking a distance from DTT. The beauty of it is that the EU only needs to stay the course: you will try and adjust a winning combination at your own peril!
Let’s hope that the eye-opener that this draft European Resolution is will keep moving forward and strike a multitude of chords across culture-supporting parties as well as across borders.
