Telephony and digital broadcasting to take over old military frequencies

This year the army is planning to hand over some of its frequencies for civilian use. These will be used by the third generation mobile phone networks UMTS, as well as for digital radio. The understanding between the Defense Ministry and the Postal and Telecommunications Regulations Office (URTiP) stipulates that the military will gradually vacate air-space which is not used by foreign armies and will receive other frequencies in exchange. URTiP chief, Witold Grabos, emphasized that space for digital media is an absolute priority. "The majority of the frequencies we will procure from the army will be used for digital television," he told Gazeta Wyborcza. According to unofficial information, TV channel TVP3 is particularly interested in the vacated frequencies. Also mobile phone companies will benefit from the decision as they will be able to develop their existing networks. "The railway safety system will also improve, thanks to the specialized GSM-R system," added Grabos. (Gazeta Wyborcza, p. 18; Rzeczpospolita, p. A4) M.T.K.