On 29th May 2015 Ofcom published its statement on “Variation of the Spectrum Access licence for 1452-1492 MHz…” This decision changes the use of the 1452-1492 MHz band in the UK  from DAB to Supplemental Down Link (SDL). SDL is a means of boosting mobile broadband downlink capacity using a unidirectional carrier aggregated with a two way mobile channel. It provides enhanced downlink capability for multimedia applications such as video.

The change was spearheaded by Qualcomm and Plum made a significant contribution to the analysis of the economic benefits required to justify the change. The two key Plum reports for Qualcomm looked at use of the band for multimedia services in Europe and the MENA region. 1452-1492 MHz is now a candidate band under Agenda Item 1.1 of WRC15 and it is a band with potential for global use. More recently Plum has advised the GSMA on progress with this global ambition (here).

The Ofcom Statement can be found here.