spectrumpolicyaug14th2004theeconomistprinteditio.docVIP

Spectrum policy Aug 14th 2004 The Economist print edition On the same wavelength Governments and industries are bracing themselves for the possibility that radio interference will become a thing of the past MOST people do not worry much about physics or politics when, for example, they look at the colours of a rainbow. Nor do they pause much when they use a remote control for their TV set, talk on a mobile phone, listen to the radio, cook food in their microwave oven, open their car door from a distance, or surf the internet without wires. Yet these are all phenomena of electromagnetic radiation. How humans harness electromagnetic waves—and specifically those in the radio-frequency part of the spectrum—has become so important that old and new ways of thinking are now lining up for a tense confrontation that will affect numerous businesses and billions of consumers. The old mindset, supported by over a century of technological experience and 70 years of regulatory habit, views spectrum—the range of frequencies, or wavelengths, at which electromagnetic waves vibrate—as a scarce resource that must be allocated by governments or bought and sold like property. The new school, pointing to cutting-edge technologies, says that spectrum is by nature abundant and that allocating, buying or selling parts of it will one day seem as illogical as, say, apportioning or selling sound waves to people who would like to have a conversation. Telecommunications Mobile telecommunications The FCC gives background information on its decision to award Nextel different slices of the spectrum. The Wi-Fi Alliance is an online resource on 802.11. America passed the Radio Act in 1927 and the Communications Act in 1934. The Nobel e-Museum publishes an autobiography of Ronald Coase. Articles on the allocation of the spectrum by James Snider are online. Kevin Werbach of Supernova Group also writes on the topic. The National Telecommunications and Information Administration regul