(Telecompaper) The UAE's Telecommunications Regulatory Authority (TRA) has introduced a plan for the 700 MHz band and announced the release of spectrum in the 800 MHz band for mobile broadband services. By combining the 800 MHz band plan for Europe, Middle East and Africa with the lower portion (2x30 MHz) of the Asia Pacific 700 MHz band, the UAE will be the first country in the ITU Region 1 to reap the benefits of both bands, which will support affordable network roll-out and widespread mobile broadband connectivity. An additional 2x10 MHz in the 700MHz band may also be released and considered for public protection and disaster relief applications.