The Myth of Spectrum Scarcity Steve Song Telecommunications Fellow Shuttleworth Foundation blog: skype:steve_l_song

What Is Spectrum?

Why Does Spectrum Need To Be Managed? Interference

Spectrum - Public or Private Good Rival Non- Rival Excludable Non-Excludable Private goods food, clothing, toys, furniture, cars Common goods / (Common-pool resources) fish, hunting game, water Club goods satellite television Public goods national defense, free- to-air television, air

FM Radio Television Mobile WiMax WiFi The Communications Spectrum

Better Propagation 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 More bandwidth per Hertz All Spectrum Is Not Created Equal

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

The core of today's spectrum policy was developed in the 1930s... King Farouk in the inauguration of the international telecommunications congress 1938 which was fine until...

...until the explosive growth of InternetMobile

InternetMobile So what needs to happen?

1) Audit and publish spectrum use

“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 use “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 and 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 and 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 spectrum

Lite Licensing Sept 26, 2008 – y “lite licensing” standard approved by the IEEE

3) Start sharing spectrum Serendipitous Re-Use Nov 4, 2008 – Unlicensed use of Television White Spaces spectrum approved in the United States Lite Licensing Sept 26, 2008 – y “lite licensing” standard approved by the IEEE

FM Radio Television Mobile WiMax WiFi Opportunies in South Africa y “lite licensing” Television White Spaces Digital Dividend Spectrum un-used government 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 Song blog: skype:steve_l_song

Creative Commons Hand Holding a Mobile Phone by WhiteAfrican We share this... by Miguel Ramirez Other photos courtesy of King Farouk in the inauguration of the international telecommunications congress 1938 by KodakAgfa Martin Cooper by Rico Shen m-MartinCooper.jpg Water Amplifier by mdezemery Seattle Raindrops and Flash by by Spappy.joneS