Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:

To ask Her Majesty’s Government what assessment they have made of the number of live events that it would not be possible to stage in their current form should no audio Programme Making and Special Events (PMSE) equipment be available for use in the 960–1164MHz band by Q2 2020 when the 700MHz band is cleared of PMSE users.

DCMS has not made any formal assessment but has noted the analysis published by Ofcom in May 2014, and that since May 2014 additional spectrum has been made available for audio PMSE in the 800 MHz and 1800 MHz duplex gaps, for which equipment is already available.

Ofcom is working with manufacturers to encourage development of PMSE audio equipment for use in the 960-1164 MHz band.