Page 145 - SAMENA Trends - September-October 2022

REGULATORY & POLICY UPDATES SAMENA TRENDS

Polish Industry Body Calls for 3.5GHz Licensing

The Digital Poland Association (Cyfrowa Polska) has written networks. He added: ‘In the long term, the new generation network
to the government to request that 3.5GHz C-band spectrum be will be a factor supporting further GDP growth and increasing the
made available for 5G services ‘as soon as possible’. The award competitiveness of the Polish economy against the background
of 3.5GHz licenses stalled due to the COVID-19 pandemic and has of the European Union countries.’ Poland and the Netherlands are
been delayed further while the government updates the Act on the the only two EU countries which have not yet awarded 3.5GHz
National Cybersecurity System (KSC). The President of Cyfrowa spectrum licenses. Operators in Poland are currently offering
Polska, Michal Kanownik, said that the allocation of 5G spectrum 5G services using 2100MHz and 2600MHz spectrum which was
is ‘necessary and urgent’, particularly given the influx of refugees originally used for 3G and 4G networks.
from Ukraine, which is placing additional strain on Poland’s mobile

Ofcom Proposes New Net Neutrality Guidance

Ofcom has today proposed to revise its guidance on how the people to access the content and services they want, and content
‘net neutrality’ rules should apply in the UK. This follows the and app owners to reach customers online. Since the current rules
announcement of our new program of work to ensure that were put in place in 2016, there have been significant developments
digital communications markets are working well for people and in the online world – including a surge in demand for capacity, the
businesses in the UK. Ofcom is responsible for monitoring and emergence of several large content providers such as Netflix and
ensuring compliance with the net neutrality rules and providing Amazon Prime, and evolving technology including the rollout of
guidance on how broadband and mobile providers should follow 5G. So Ofcom has carried out this review to ensure net neutrality
them. The rules themselves are set out in legislation, and any continues to serve everyone’s interests. We want to make sure
changes to the law would be a matter for Government and that net neutrality continues to support innovation, investment
Parliament. The principle of net neutrality is that internet users – and growth, by content providers as well as broadband and mobile
not their broadband or mobile provider – have control over what companies. Getting this balance right will improve consumers’
they do online. Net neutrality has played a critical role in allowing experiences online, including through innovative new services
and increased choice. While net neutrality remains important to
support consumer choice, we propose more clarity in our guidance
so that broadband and mobile providers can:
• offer premium quality retail broadband or mobile packages;
for example, ones with low latency (to send data and receive a
response very quickly);
• develop new ‘specialized services’, which could include
supporting applications like virtual reality and driverless cars;
• use ‘traffic management’ measures to avoid congestion over
their networks at peak times; and
• offer ‘zero-rating’ packages in many circumstances – which
means not charging users for accessing certain services, for
example online public health advice provided by the NHS.

DoT Publishes New NFAP; Claims TRAI Worries Have Been Addressed

India’s Department of Telecommunications (DoT) has published base stations per week, and the consultation on the draft telecom
a new National Frequency Allocation Plan (NFAP) that includes bill which is set to overhaul the sector’s regulatory framework. The
additional bands for 5G. Telecom Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw was minister claimed that the issues regarding the potential diluting of
cited by the Economic Times as saying that the NFAP 2022 strikes the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India’s (TRAI’s) powers have
a balance between standardization and innovation, is dynamic and now been addressed and that the draft telecom bill will focus on
adaptive and will facilitate ease of doing business in the sector. The user protections. As part of the consultation process for the new
document makes additional spectrum in several bands available bill, the TRAI and local experts had expressed concerns that the
for 5G services, including in the sub-1GHz range, 70MHz in the mid- proposed legislation transfers powers to the DoT and away from
band (below 4GHz) and 1,6750MHz of additional spectrum above the independent watchdog, removing several checks and balances
24GHz. The Minister also discussed the ongoing rollout of 5G on the DoT and transforming the TRAI into more of a consultative
technology, urging providers to accelerate the deployment to 10,000 body than regulatory agency.
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