The Myth of Spectrum Scarcity

Steve SongTelecommunications Fellow

Shuttleworth Foundation

email: steve.song@shuttleworthfoundation.orgblog: http://manypossibilities.net

skype: steve_l_songtwitter: stevesong

What Is Spectrum?

Why Does Spectrum Need

To Be Managed?

Interference

Spectrum - Public or Private Good

RivalRival

Non-Non-RivalRival

ExcludableExcludable Non-ExcludableNon-Excludable

Private goodsPrivate goodsfood, clothing, toys, furniture, cars

Common goods / Common goods / (Common-pool resources)(Common-pool resources)fish, hunting game, water

Club goodsClub goodssatellite television

Public goodsPublic goodsnational defense, free-to-air television, air

FM RadioFM Radio

TelevisionTelevision

MobileMobile

WiMaxWiMax

WiFiWiFi

The Communications

Spectrum

Better Propagation

Better Propagation

More bandwidth per Hertz

More bandwidth per Hertz

All Spectrum Is Not Created

Equal

Source: The Mobile Provide: Economic Impacts of Alternative Uses of the Digital Dividend

Better Propagation

Better Propagation

More bandwidth per Hertz

More bandwidth per Hertz

All Spectrum Is Not Created

Equal

Cooper's Law

Every 30 months the Every 30 months the amount of information amount of information that be can transmitted that be can transmitted over a given amount of over a given amount of radio spectrum radio spectrum doubles.doubles.

Cooper's Law

http://www.economist.com/sciencetechnology/tq/displayStory.cfm?story_id=13725793http://www.economist.com/sciencetechnology/tq/displayStory.cfm?story_id=13725793

The core The core of of today's today's spectrum spectrum policy policy was was developedeveloped in the d in the 1930s...1930s...

King Farouk in the inauguration of the international telecommunications congress 1938King Farouk in the inauguration of the international telecommunications congress 1938

which was fine until... which was fine until...

...until the explosive growth of...until the explosive growth of

InternetInternet MobileMobile

...until the explosive growth of...until the explosive growth of

InternetInternet MobileMobile

So what needs to happen?

1) Audit and publish spectrum 1) Audit and publish spectrum useuse

1) Audit and publish spectrum 1) Audit and publish spectrum useuse

“According to the best

available data, at any

one place and any one

time in the U.S. it is

likely that less than

10% of available

spectrum is in use.”

- Sascha Meinrath, New America

Foundation

1) Audit and publish spectrum 1) Audit and publish spectrum useuse

“According to the best

available data, at any

one place and any one

time in the U.S. it is

likely that less than

10% of available

spectrum is in use.”

- Sascha Meinrath, New America

Foundation

A recent spectrum

audit of Dublin, Ireland

showed that only 14%

of available spectrum

was in use.- Irish Communications Market:

Key Data Report

2) Standards for transparency 2) Standards for transparency and equity in spectrum auctionsand equity in spectrum auctions

2) Standards for transparency 2) Standards for transparency and equity in spectrum auctionsand equity in spectrum auctions

Recent spectrum

auction in the United

States of the 700Mhz

band resulted in 20

billion USD revenue

for government.

2) Standards for transparency 2) Standards for transparency and equity in spectrum auctionsand equity in spectrum auctions

Recent spectrum

auction in the United

States of the 700Mhz

band resulted in 20

billion USD revenue

for government.

Without good

governance, natural

resource wealth turns

out to be worse for

poor countries than if

they hadn’t had those

resources at all.

- Paul Collier – The Bottom Billion

3) Start sharing spectrum3) Start sharing spectrum

3) Start sharing spectrum3) Start sharing spectrum

Lite Licensing

Sept 26, 2008 – 802.11y-

2008 “lite licensing”

standard approved by

the IEEE

3) Start sharing spectrum3) Start sharing spectrum

Serendipitous Re-Use

Nov 4, 2008 –

Unlicensed use of

Television White

Spaces spectrum

approved in the

United StatesLite Licensing

Sept 26, 2008 – 802.11y-

2008 “lite licensing”

standard approved by

the IEEE

FM RadioFM Radio

TelevisionTelevision

MobileMobile

WiMaxWiMax

WiFiWiFi

Opportuniesin

South Africa

802.11y “lite

licensing”

Television

White Spaces

Digital Dividend Spectrum

un-usedgovernme

nt spectrum

Industry Alliance in the United States

Television White Spaces

Use of television guard bands

Digital dividend spectrum

Serendipitous re-use

The Cost of Not Engaging

...fixing bad spectrum regulation can take a

generation or more

Steve Songemail: steve.song@shuttleworthfoundation.orgblog: http://manypossibilities.net

skype: steve_l_songtwitter: stevesong

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sHand Holding a Mobile Phone by WhiteAfricanhttp://www.flickr.com/photos/whiteafrican/2736565604/

We share this... by Miguel Ramirezhttp://www.flickr.com/photos/ibizadj/323305938/

Other photos courtesy of http://www.istockphoto.com

King Farouk in the inauguration of the international telecommunications congress 1938 by KodakAgfahttp://www.flickr.com/photos/96884693@N00/1509615338/

Martin Cooper by Rico Shenhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:2007Computex_e21Forum-MartinCooper.jpg

Water Amplifier by mdezemeryhttp://www.flickr.com/photos/mdezemery/295687769/

Seattle Raindrops and Flash by by Spappy.joneShttp://www.flickr.com/photos/swift/94108224/