The “second slash third digital dividend”: progress report

It follows the first digital dividend in the UHF band (470—862MHz) which saw the release of 800 MHz frequencies following the transition from analogue to digital terrestrial TV in Europe. In many countries, these 800 MHz frequencies were assigned for IMT. The process started in Germany in 2010. But outside Europe the digital dividend started with the allocation of 700 MHz.

The opportunity for another digital dividend in the 600 MHz band comes from broadcasters upgrading their compression technology and a shift in viewing habits towards greater use of streaming services.

Some countries, including the US and Canada, have benefited from digital dividends in both the 700 and 600 MHz bands. However, other jurisdictions have yet to realise their first one. Indonesia, for example, one of the world’s largest mobile markets, has yet to assign 700 or 600 MHz.

In Australia, the government has launched a paper to discuss the future of free-to-air broadcasting in early 2025, while in the UK, a report by the regulator Ofcom proposes three options for the future of digital terrestrial TV (DTT). One of them is moving towards DTT switch-off in the long term.

The US concluded an auction of 600 MHz frequencies in March 2017—the world’s first reassignment of the band—while neighbour Canada completed a sell-off of frequencies in the same band in April 2019 (followed by a further auction of residual frequencies).

Find out more in our 600 MHz “mini-dossier” which is now available to Spectrum Research Service subscribers.

• 600 MHz: Europe and North America
• 600 MHz: Asia, Central and South America, the Middle East and Africa