Wireless technologies, including those using unlicensed spectrum, are becoming an important part of
the telecommunications landscape. The range of technologies making demands on spectrum is growing
rapidly (HDTV, mobile TV, mobile broadband like 3G and Long term evolution technologies (LTE),
WiMAX, unlicensed spectrum technologies, etc). Ensuring effective spectrum management is thus
becoming a key policy issue. Since most “prime” spectrum has been assigned, it is becoming increasingly
difficult to find spectrum for expansion of existing uses or for innovative new businesses spawned by
technological developments and market convergence. In turn, this has led to concerns on the traditional
“command and control” approach in current spectrum allocation policies and management - in which key
aspects of the allocation of spectrum usage rights are controlled, including exactly which frequencies can
DSTI/ICCP/CISP(2007)2/FINAL
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Not only is access to more spectrum required in many countries, there is a pressing need to flexibly
reassign unused and underused spectrum to users who will use it most efficiently. Greater flexibility in
usage/market solutions (tradability) is increasingly viewed as a way to better take into account the expected
competing demands. In particular, the introduction of secondary markets for spectrum is considered as
important to improve economic efficiency in spectrum markets. Secondary markets may enable spectrum
resources to shift from low-value uses to higher value uses.
Spectrum trading and liberalisation are separate developments. Even without liberalisation of
spectrum use, spectrum trading has some benefits. However, liberalisation allows the required flexibility
giving spectrum users freedom to adopt new technologies and offer new services. Combining spectrum
trading with liberalisation may help the market to decide how much spectrum should be allocated to
different uses; enable faster flexible access to spectrum, including unused and underused spectrum; help to
promote the development of new, spectrum–efficient technologies; and boost innovation in the use of the
spectrum and spectrum-based products and services.
Even though spectrum trading is not applicable to all frequencies, it allows the opportunity cost of
frequencies allocated by traditional command-and-control or the ‘commons’ approach to be imputed from
those that are traded. National security, public safety, health, media pluralism and other legitimate public
interest objectives need not be compromised under a spectrum trading regime. But where governments
intervene in spectrum management decisions, this intervention should be clearly defined, transparent and
limited in scope wherever possible. Given the importance of wireless in rural and remote areas, and the
difficulties in replicating some fibre networks, changes in spectrum markets are important. It needs to be
stressed that the use of secondary markets for spectrum does not apply, and indeed cannot apply, to
unlicensed bands since these bands are not allocated to any specific user or service. It is also important that
such unlicensed bands continue to be set aside for unlicensed use.
Countries have an important opportunity to introduce reforms in spectrum markets over the next few
years with the shift to digital transmission from analogue in TV markets which will free a significant
amount of spectrum bandwidth making it potentially available for other applications. Taking into account
the expected competing demands to use the spectrum dividend and the uncertainty of technology
development and convergence of services, a market-based property rights approach (exclusive usage rights
+ tradability) coupled with flexible spectrum use (in broader terms), subject to public interest objectives
(cultural diversity and pluralism of information, international agreement, interference protection, etc.) may
be considered.
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