Arqiva today announced that it has partnered with Ofcom to provide European broadcasters covering the Tour de France with communications through the first use of its 412MHz spectrum. Arqiva was awarded a licence in an Ofcom auction to operate in the 412 to 414MHz and 422 to 424MHz paired bands in October last year.
The company can use this spectrum for any purpose directly with its own customers, or by acting as a band manager and sub-licensing spectrum to third parties. This spectrum will allow Arqiva to fulfil its plans to develop wireless infrastructure to meet the long-term needs of both its public- and private-sector customers.
The broadcasters will use the radio spectrum, which supports both analogue and digital systems, to manage people and equipment during the three days next weekend when the race entourage will be in the UK. Radios will be used on the network during the race, providing crucial, behind the scenes communications on the ground to help facilitate the smooth delivery of broadcast services back to France.
The spectrum enables Arqiva to help customers migrate from legacy analogue private mobile radio systems to modern digital networks, including Tetra, or create their own dedicated network from scratch. It has a number of possible market uses for organisations within the public and private sector including local authorities, utilities, transport, bus, taxi and courier companies, logistics, warehousing and any organisation with a large field force.
Alastair Davidson, managing director of Arqiva’s Public Safety division commented: “We are delighted to be able to work alongside Ofcom to play a role in supporting a prestigious event such as the Tour de France in the UK. Reliable and secure communications, which enable all the behind-the-scenes management and logistics, are crucial in delivering the best possible coverage of the event, and our 412MHz spectrum enables just that. We have the ability to work with organisations of all sizes to help with their secure communications requirements and our partnership with Ofcom for the Tour de France is testament to our expertise in this field.”
