Open letter from the German utility industry on the urgent need for allocation of 450 MHz spectrum in Germany to supply energy and water
Two hundred utility companies in Germany have called for the opening of award procedure for 450 MHz spectrum by the Federal Network Agency. In the open letter, they are appealing to the federal ministries responsible for frequency politics to award the 450 MHz frequency for the usage by the energy and water industries. Until now, the procedure and opening of the allocation process have been delayed due to the demands for 450 MHz spectrum from the public safety organizations in Germany.
The open letter has been signed by the utility companies but also the by the associations BDEW (German Association of the Energy and Water Industry) and VKU (German Association of Local Utilities of municipally determined infrastructure undertakings and economic enterprises). The signing parties underline that the requirements of the energy industry can be only met in an exclusive radio network in the frequency range of 450 MHz. Such radio network provides the necessary building penetration due to the frequency characteristics and requires relatively few antenna sites in the area. This makes it not only technically better in comparison to other wireless networks, but also more economical to build and operate.
However, until now it has not been possible to reach the necessary agreement with the federal government, the federal states and the Federal Ministry of the Interior, Building and Community (BMI) due to the demands of the public safety authorities and organizations (BOS) for this frequency. However, the public safety organizations in Germany already have various exclusive frequency allocations, for example the newly awarded allocation in the 700 MHz band.
At the end of September 2019, the Advisory Council of the Federal Network Agency unanimously supported the use of the 450 MHz frequency for applications in the energy industry – with the approval of all 16 federal states and the 16 members of the Bundestag from all political groups.