BRUSSELS (WiMAX Day). The European Commission announced last week that it has adopted a decision aimed at harmonising the use of 3400 ~ 3800 MHz frequencies in Europe.

The Decision will have a positive impact for WiMAX network operators in Europe, where many use 3.5 GHz spectrum. According to Article 3 of the Decision, Member States of the European Community must allow this spectrum range to be used for “fixed, nomadic and mobile electronic communications networks,” by January 2012.

Almost all licenses for 3.5 GHz spectrum in Europe currently restrict usage to fixed or nomadic services. Few countries allow the spectrum to be used for mobility services, and other countries are in various stages of planning to open the frequencies for such usage.

The Commission has long supported the flexible use of wireless spectrum, with technical and service neutrality. In particular, the designation of the 3400 ~ 3800 MHz frequency band “is an important element addressing the convergence of the mobile, fixed and broadcasting sectors and reflecting technical innovation,” the Commission said.

As mobile wireless broadband services will become the principal service used with this spectrum, the Commission anticipated that further harmonisation would support roaming amongst these frequencies in Europe, “in the sense that users of such electronic communications service in one Member State could also gain access to equivalent services in any other Member State.”

The Decision document cited the CEPT report on Broadband Wireless Access (BWA) which concluded that “the deployment of fixed, nomadic and mobile networks is technically feasible within the 3400 ~ 3800 MHz frequency band under the technical conditions described in the Electronic Communications Committee’s Decision ECC/DEC/(07)02 and Recommendation ECC/REC/(04)05.”

The results of this report, said the commission, “should be made applicable in the Community and implemented by the Member States without delay given the market demand.”

Some European operators note the greater importance of the EC Decision because it validates the status of the spectrum conferred by the World Radio Conference (WRC) last year when 3400 ~ 3600 MHz frequencies were included in the expansion of the definition of IMT, the next generation of mobile technologies, known commonly known as “4G”.