Federal Council opens digital dividend for mobile broadband

Telecom Handel reports that the German Bundesrat (Federal Council) has approved a proposal to use digital dividend for mobile broadband services. Germany’s telecoms regulator, the Federal Network Agency (FNA), can now begin to prepare an auction of digital dividend licences, which is expected to take place by Q1 2010. The approval will help the federal government work towards its broadband strategy, which calls for broadband with download speeds of at least 1Mbps to be available nationwide by 2010, and coverage of 50Mbps internet to reach 75% of German households by 2014.