A Technology Driven Spectrum Policy

Hello readers, my name is Benjamin Lennett, and I work with Sascha at the New America Foundation's Wireless Future Program as well as contribute to the foundation's Open Technology Initiative (OTI).

Last week, OTI, along with Iarla Flynn, European Policy Manager for Google, submitted a filing to Ireland's Spectrum Policy Consultation . The document, A Technology Driven Spectrum Policy, lays out a new vision for Ireland's Spectrum Policy in the 21st Century. The document focuses on encouraging unlicensed access and cognitive radio technology to promote a more efficient, flexible, open, and inclusive approach to spectrum management.

The following is a summary of the filing:

A Unique Opportunity for Ireland

Ireland is in a unique and enviable position. Its geographic locations and relative lack of congestion in most spectrum bands, provide Ireland with the flexibility and freedom to become a policy innovator in spectrum management, allowing it to quickly reallocate valuable spectrum to further advanced wireless telecommunications and broadband, while also encouraging technological innovation and experimentation.

Spectrum policy has largely developed under an assumption of scarcity, and therefore the need to ration spectrum access as means to prevent interference among users. This has resulted in a policy framework that placed state authorities in Ireland and elsewhere in the role of hands-on managers of national spectrum resources.

But, the reality is that spectrum under current management frameworks is substantially underutilized. An independent analysis of usage in the centre of Dublin (in 2007) highlights that average use across the primary spectrum bands was less than 14 percent. In addition, technological advancements in wireless communications are fundamentally changing how we can manage access to spectrum, providing for more equitable and efficient use of this public resource. "Smart" or "cognitive radio" technologies and the shift from analog to digital for various services (e.g. terrestrial TV and public safety services) provide a timely opportunity to reallocate significant blocks of spectrum for new uses and services.

The switch over to Digital Television (DTT) provides a tremendous opportunity for Ireland to re-envision its spectrum policies and reallocate valuable spectrum for advanced communication uses and technologies. The challenge for Ireland is to develop a broad-based spectrum policy that ensures all Irish citizens can access the benefits of this public communications resource.

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