Radio Spectrum Policy Group Workshop

20th june 2022

The Radio Spectrum Policy Group (RSPG) held a public workshop on 20 June 2022 in which 5G-RECORDS Project, represented by EBU, in collaboration with 5G Media Action Group (5G-MAG) presented the issue of spectrum access for 5G non-public networks (5G NPN) used in professional content production.

The RSPG is a high-level advisory group that assists the European Commission in the development of radio spectrum policy. The members of the Group are senior representatives from Member States' regulatory authorities and the ministries having responsibility for radio spectrum related matters, and the official representative of the European Commission.

5G-RECORDS, working on the regulatory framework and business models for 5G content production, has identified that 5G NPNs in content production often have some specific requirements concerning access to radio spectrum and licensing procedure, which may not be common to other types of 5G NPNs. These include, for example, short-term local licenses (e.g. for a duration of a few days or weeks), nomadic licenses, flexible UL/DL configuration, coordination with other local users, 'light' licensing process, and cross-border operation. The findings in 5G-MAG were similar.

In order to ensure that spectrum regulators and policy makers are aware of these requirements, the 5G-RECORDS Project and 5G-MAG took the opportunity provided by the RSPG workshop to bring the issue of spectrum access for 5G NPNs to the attention of the European regulators. The objective is to ensure that the regulatory conditions, including spectrum access for 5G NPNs are suitable for professional content production use cases.

The workshop was attended by about 75 participants and the joint 5G-RECORDS/5G-MAG presentation was well received.

5G-RECORDS remains ready to further engage with the regulators, and other interested stakeholders, on this issue.