Asked by: Gavin Newlands (Scottish National Party - Paisley and Renfrewshire North)
Question to the Department for Science, Innovation & Technology:
To ask the Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology, if she will make it her policy to support a no change position on spectrum allocation at this year’s World Radiocommunications Conference.
Answered by John Whittingdale - Shadow Minister (Health and Social Care)
In preparing for the forthcoming ITU World Radiocommunications Conference (WRC), the government has worked extensively with Ofcom and with spectrum users to ensure the UK promotes the best interests of the UK. The WRC works on consensus, so compromise is expected in order to reach a conclusion all parties can sign up to. However, we will strongly resist any positions we believe undermine the UK’s objectives and will exercise our right to manage our domestic spectrum allocation where appropriate.
We will work with international partners, especially within the European regional group, to ensure protection for the continuation of the Digital Terrestrial Television (Freeview) platform and where the UK has the maximum flexibility to make long-term changes to domestic use of this spectrum band without needing to have regard to the spectrum priorities of neighbouring countries. We will only support changes to the Radio Regulations that are consistent with this.