Efficient utilization of the UHF spectrum
2015-2016
Tekes
Budget DFT: 121 500 €
Ongoing
The future of UHF frequency band is under active discussion worldwide. The need for regulatory work is driven by the media consumption disruption, where audiovisual materials are consumed more and more via mobile networks. Consumption patterns are changing as mobile terminals are becoming more advanced and commonly available. A new generation of so-called diginatives is entering schools, higher education as well as the workforce. With it comes change in media behavior and media consumption patterns. This has led to an increasing demand for utilizing spectrum resources efficiently.
The FUHF project aims to explore the fast evolving ecosystem for media consumption and wireless networks in order to identify and frame new cross-industry opportunities and co-creative business models. The project contains explorative elements with the aim of co-creating knowledge in a collaborative and future-oriented manner, i.e., workshops, discussions, business model building, and future scenarios. The technical work in the project involves piloting in a multi-stakeholder testbed. Collaborative work will also result in joint research/industry contributions to regulation and standardization work.
The main technological objective of the project is to pilot the supplemental downlink (SDL) concept in UHF frequencies. This corresponds to allocating more downlink spectrum for the mobile broadband on the frequencies previously allocated for television broadcasting. Analyses are done for future media consumption and changing business models to provide estimates for possible trade-offs between mobile broadband networks and dedicated broadcast networks. Results will be disseminated to regulation and standardization.
