EU set to clash with US over radio waves

[Seth Ackerman]

European Voice - March 2, 2000
EU set to clash with US over radio waves
By Peter Chapman 
THE EU is preparing for battle with the US over key negotiations on the
future of Europe's proposed global navigation satellite system and a slate
of other state-of-the-art radio, television and telecoms services. 
The warning from aides to Information Society Commissioner Erkki Liikanen
comes as preparations continue for the May World Radio Communications (WRC)
Conference in Istanbul, where countries are due to agree how to carve out
scarce space on the world's airwaves for new services. 
A Commission paper setting out the Union's position calls on Europe to fight
for the 'radio spectrum' it needs to set up GALILEO - the planned competitor
to the US' monopoly of the global satellite navigation used by aircraft,
cars, shipping and the military. 
The creation of GALILEO was given top priority by former Transport
Commissioner Neil Kinnock and EU governments, amid fears that the Union
would otherwise be totally reliant on the US to supply services in a key
strategic area. 
"GALILEO is a big issue politically. The Americans have their own Global
Positioning System (GPS). They currently offer their services free of charge
to the rest of the world, but many fear that in the future they may charge
for that," said one Commission official. "Now Europe wants its own system
and it needs frequencies. The US is not objecting in the open, but of course
you can ask the question 'would it be in the interests of the US to get
competition?'." EU insiders say this question was effectively answered by
Donald Abelson, international bureau chief of the US' Federal Communications
Commission, in recent interviews with American technology journals in which
he insisted that he would fight to "protect the integrity of the GPS". 
Experts are also warning that transatlantic clashes are likely in
negotiations over other key technologies. 
The Commission paper highlights the vital need for space on the airwaves for
third-generation mobile telecoms services, which are set to replace current
GSM services in Europe. But Abelson has put the issue near the bottom on his
list of priorities for the WRC 2000 agenda, reflecting the recent commercial
failure of satellite telecoms services such as Iridium. 
"The Americans are asking for much less. Since they had their fingers burnt
with Iridium, they are a bit reluctant. In 1992, they said they needed many
frequencies for telephony by satellite. They got it and it was a disaster,"
said a Commission official. 
The US and Union could also clash over the technical requirements for the
new breed of 'Internet-in-the sky' satellites which would allow massive
amounts of data to be transmitted over the airwaves instead of via fibre
optic cables. 
There are fears that systems such as American billionaire Bill Gates'
proposed Teledesic and the European-led Skybridge system could interfere
with existing services. 
Officials warn that Washington may demand a technical solution which keeps
Teledesic on track while limiting the scope for competitors such as
Skybridge, which will use French Alcatel technology. 
Other potential areas for conflict at what is expected to be a
politically-charged conference include satellite TV and radio services, with
officials predicting that developing countries will demand the right to
reserve certain parts of the airwaves for themselves. 
Commission sources admit that this would appear to be the fairest option,
but question whether poorer countries would be able to make use of this
capacity and argue that granting them this right would limit the scope for
new television services in Europe. 
The biennial WRC conferences are given top priority by governments and
industry alike because, without adequate radio spectrum, firms could see
their plans for multi-billion-euro systems in tatters while governments may
be left without the vital strategic communications facilities deemed
essential by their military planners. 
The Commission's concerns are compounded by the Union's relatively weak role
in international telecoms policy-making. It is the 43-country European
Conference of Postal and Telecommunications Administrations (CEPT) and its
policy-making arm, the European Radio Communications Committee, which are
responsible for preparing European positions at conferences like WRC 2000 -
and not the EU executive. 
The Commission's proposals will only carry enough political weight to be
taken seriously at the conference if they win the support of the Union's 15
governments when they are discussed by telecoms ministers at a meeting on 2
May. However, sources say this is unlikely to be a problem as there are few
differences between the stance taken by CEPT and the Commission on the key
issues. 
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