Page 125 - SAMENA Trends - Oct-Nov 2023

REGULATORY & POLICY UPDATES SAMENA TRENDS

The Ministry of Economic Affairs and Digital Spain. The aid programmes that cover the deployment
Transformation (Ministerio de Asuntos Economicos of infrastructure (UNICO 5G Backhaul and UNICO 5G
y Transformacion Digital) has announced the official ACTIVAS), the development of pilot projects – through
launch of an EUR544 million (USD577 million) funding Red.es – and use cases, the integration of technology in
Spain call for its UNICO-5G Redes Activas program, which industrial value chains (UNICO 5G Sectorial) and basic
seeks to boost 5G coverage in rural areas across the
research and innovation in the following technological
country. The Official State Gazette published the call generations (UNICO R&D 5G advanced and 6G) … Spain
for aid on 10 October 2023 to deploy the necessary has been one of the first countries in the European
equipment for 5G Standalone (SA) services in Union to have completed the allocation of the entire 5G
municipalities with fewer than 10,000 inhabitants. spectrum, in addition to having dedicated 450MHz for
The funding for the program is financed with Next self-provision and industrial use. Caps have also been
Generation EU European funds within the framework increased to allow operators to better manage increases
of the Recovery Plan and the Digital Spain 2026 in traffic.’ According to a report in each province, the
agenda, as the Spanish government works to reduce successful company will be eligible for 100% of the
the digital divide between urban and rural areas. The funding if they are the sole bidder and up to 75% if not.
press release noted that the government’s intention It is understood that the government targets minimum
‘is for the country to have this disruptive technology data speeds of 100Mbps/5Mbps (down/uplink) and
in order to develop the capabilities that 5G will allow that the networks must come online by February 2026.
as an economic and social transformative element’. It The maximum cap on operators has also been set at 30
went on to note: ‘With this objective, programmes have provinces, with the call remaining open for bids until 31
been launched that cover all phases of development October 2023.
of these new mobile communication technologies in (October 12, 2023) Daily El Pais

The Swedish Post and Telecom Agency (Post & is for a further 1.9% of households to have access to
Telestyrelsen, PTS) says two out of three of the 100Mbps services, meaning 99.9% of premises would
government’s 2025 targets for broadband coverage be covered by 100Mbps or higher, but PTS predicts that
could be met, but the country will struggle to meet the figure will be between 98.1% and 98.6%. The third
Sweden the third without further government intervention. target of full 30Mbps coverage looks more likely to be
Authorities are looking to have 1Gbps connectivity achieved, with PTS forecasting a figure of 99.5%-100%.
available to 98% of all households and businesses The coverage goals can be met via any combination of
by end-2025 and PTS says this is within reach as it is fixed and/or mobile technology.
forecasting a figure of 97.8%-98.3%. The second target (October 11, 2023) www.commsupdate.com

Switzerland’s Federal Council has decided to postpone Federal Council has initiated a consultation on a draft
the assignment of mmWave spectrum for mobile amendment to the Ordinance on Telecommunications
communications until there is demand from the Services (OST) to make mobile networks more resilient
economy and the necessary environmental legal to power supply disruptions. The government aims to
Switzerland framework has been established. The latter condition ensure that mobile networks remain accessible during
refers to the rules regulating the emission of non- power outages to enable emergency calls, public
ionizing radiation, which has hindered the full utilization telephone services and internet access. To that end, the
of 5G technology by Swiss cellcos. Current legislation council has proposed that mobile network operators
sets strict limits on radiation emissions, preventing install emergency power supplies in central locations
operators from installing dense groups of mobile sites. and at base stations, sufficient to maintain service
The government has been reluctant to amend these during outages of up to 72 hours or rolling blackouts
rules due to public concern over the alleged impacts of over 14 consecutive days. The proposals would also
radio signals on health and the environment. To address require that each operator ensure that 99% of their
these concerns, in 2019 the Federal Office for the customers in each commune have access to mobile
Environment (FOEN, or Bundesamt fur Umwelt, BAFU) services during power grid shutdowns. Operators would
began work on a long-term study to monitor exposure be given five years to ensure that emergency calls can
to electromagnetic radiation and its impact on health. be made during power outages, and a further three
(November 22, 2023) www.commsupdate.com years to ensure that public calls and internet access are
available; the proposals note that the rules should not

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