World radiocommunication conference 12 : implications for the spectrum eco-system

Spectrum allocation is once more a key issue facing the global telecommunications industry. Largely overlooked in current debates, however, is the World Radiocommunication Conference (WRC). Decisions taken by WRC shape the future roadmap of the telecommunications industry, not least because it has the ability to shape the global spectrum allocation framework. In the debates of WRC-12 it is possible to identify three main issues: enhancement of the international spectrum regulatory framework, regulatory measures required to introduce Cognitive Radio Systems (CRS) technologies; and, additional spectrum allocation to mobile service. WRC-12 eventually decided not to change the current international radio regulations with regard to the first two issues and agreed to the third issue. The main implications of WRC-12 on the spectrum ecosystem are that most of actors are not in support of the concept of spectrum flexibility associated with trading and that the concept of spectrum open access is not under consideration. This is explained by the observation that spectrum trading and spectrum commons weaken state control over spectrum and challenge the main principles and norms of the international spectrum management regime. In addition, the mobile allocation issue has shown the lack of conformity with the main rules of the regime: regional spectrum allocation in the International Telecommunication Union (ITU) three regions, and the resistance to the slow decision making procedures. In conclusion, while the rules and decision-making procedures of the international spectrum management regime were challenged in the WRC-12, the main principles and norms are still accepted by the majority of countries

Towards systematic understanding of institutional interests in current agenda items at the world radiocommunication conference

The World Radiocommunication Conference (WRC) serves as a forum to negotiate, review, and revise the Radio Regulations (RR), an international treaty and one of the most difficult regulations for radiocommunication services. RR is complex since it includes intergovernmental issues in relation to regulation covering technical, legal and societal aspects. A large number of parties are interested and involved in revising RR and creating supranational instruments for optimal management of the spectrum. As a consequence, it can be difficult for one involved stakeholder to see its own position and other relevant issues directly influencing them in relation to the whole work of WRC and its subprocesses. A systematic analysis of the main decision-making process would contribute to better understanding of the role of WRC and positions of the involved parties. The aim of the paper is to contribute to better understanding of the role of the WRC with a focus on the current agenda items. Agenda items are specified issues from RR that need to be handled at an actual conference. The point of departure is using the institutional analysis and development (IAD) framework [see Ostrom (2011)] to gain a suitable institutional overview of the main decision-making process and its sub-processes. The IAD framework has the capacity to explain jointly produced outcomes, such as negotiating an international treaty depending on multiple inputs and different priority levels. Also, it can be used to enhance the understanding of WRC matters in order to improve the decision-making process by focusing on the main interactions and involved parties in relation to the possible outcomes of the WRC. The paper is based on data obtained from historical documents, content analysis, literature review, observations, and interviews. The results of this paper illustrate the benefits of the IAD framework in the context of the WRC, especially for the process of agenda setting and study cycles. The practical implications are important for policy makers, for example, since it highlights critical actors, events, and interactions aligned with the main activities of WRC. A stakeholder will better understand its own position and its possibility for control, both in relation to the overall process and the sub-processes important for agenda items in which it has an interest. It will gain understanding not only of the overall role of WRC, but also of its own possibilities to intervene during the process of revision of RR so that it could protect its interests - e.g., with more proper contribution in the suitable forums with the expected outcome. --Radio Regulations (RR),institutional analysis and development (IAD) framework,World Radiocommunication Conference (WRC),WRC agenda items,decision situation

WRC-07: the Technological and Market Pressures for Flexible Spectrum Access

By examining the preparations for the 2007 ITU World Radio Conference (WRC-07) and associated developments this paper identifies practical examples of the market and technological pressures contributing towards a more liberalised approach to spectrum management. It argues that the need to find new spectrum for advanced mobile services (WRC-07 Agenda item 1.4), the growing orthodoxy on spectrum neutrality and the need to accommodate converging technologies are helping to undermine the stricter forms of command and control spectrum management. However, the need for global harmonisation of satellite frequencies and the international variation in rolling out digital terrestrial television place limits on this drive towards greater flexibility.World Radio Conference; WRC-07; mobile; IMT; IMT-2000; satellite; broadcasting; spectrum liberalisation; mobile TV; DVB-H; WiMAX; technology neutrality; ITU Radio Regulations

TVWS policies to enable efficient spectrum sharing

The transition from analogue to the Digital Terrestrial Television (DTV) in Europe is planned to be completed by the end of the year 2012. The DTV spectrum allocation is such that there are a number of TV channels which cannot be used for additional high power broadcast transmitters due to mutual interference and hence are left unused within a given geographical location, i.e. the TV channels are geographically interleaved. The use of geographically interleaved spectrum provides for the so-called TV white spaces (TVWS) an opportunity for deploying new wireless services. The main objective of this paper is to present the spectrum policies that are suitable for TVWS at European level, identified within the COGEU project. The COGEU project aims the efficient exploitation of the geographical interleaved spectrum (TVWS). COGEU is an ICT collaborative project supported by the European Commission within the 7th Framework Programme. Nine partners from seven EU countries representing academia, research institutes and industry are involved in the project. The COGEU project is a composite of technical, business, and regulatory/policy domains, with the objective of taking advantage of the TV digital switchover by developing cognitive radio systems that leverage the favorable propagation characteristics of the UHF broadcast spectrum through the introduction and promotion of real-time secondary spectrum trading and the creation of new spectrum commons regimes. COGEU will also define new methodologies for compliance testing and certification of TVWS equipment to ensure non-interference coexistence with the DVB-T European standard. The innovation brought by COGEU is the combination of cognitive access to TV white spaces with secondary spectrum trading mechanisms.telecommunications,spectrum management,secondary spectrum market,regulation,TV white spaces,cognitive radio

Implications of WRC-15 on Spectrum and 5G

The last World Radiocommunication Conference, WRC-15, took place in Geneva in November 2015. This deliverable presents a review of the decisions taken during the conference regarding the agenda items for WRC-19, the frequency bands identified as strong candidates for the development of 5G systems and the importance for EU policies.JRC.E.2-Technology Innovation in Securit

Civil society activism, strategic alignment and international public policy making for spectrum

Recent work in political science asserts a growth in prominence of civil society in international public policy processes, something that has been to this point under-addressed in the field of public policy research in communication. This article undertakes an analysis of the role of civil society in the recent EU policy debate on re-allocation of spectrum, one of the most strategically significant communication resources. The article explains the presence of the voice of civil society through construction of a model of international civil society strategic alignment and application of it to the spectrum case. The case provides evidence of how, in an environment generally dominated by state and commercial interests, civil society actors have been able to articulate influentially – though ultimately in a limited way - their public policy preferences

Broadcasters and radio spectrum: The emergence of a European digital dividend in the United Kingdom and Spain

Most of the countries in the European Union are immersed in the analogue-digital switchover, and it is envisaged that by the end of 2012 all of the countries will have changed over to digital television, giving rise to the digital dividend in Europe. The recently harmonisation of the 800MHz band as the European digital dividend will have different impact on EU member states. In this paper we will address the question regarding the impact of digital dividend harmonisation on national planning for the development of Digital Terrestrial Television (DTT) in United Kingdom and Spain. Taking these two countries as our reference points, we will see that their DTT transition models differ greatly. In the UK, the digital transition was based on a centralised model designed to release a major portion of the spectrum, whereas the Spanish model is highly decentralized, both regionally and locally. In Spain, the introduction of digital television has sought to respond to regional and local communication needs, virtually casting aside the release of the digital dividend for the provision of wireless communications services other than broadcasting. The lack of European coordination and the limited foresight of the Spanish authorities regarding the increase in spectrum demand will make the digital transition in Spain far more expensive, given the need to reassign the frequencies subject to European harmonisation. Unlike the UK, which had already envisaged the release of a large amount of spectrum, in Spain, the impact of European harmonisation on national DTT planning will inevitably be greater. The structure of this paper will consist of an identification of the regulatory framework and the directives issued by EU institutions in relation to European policy on the development of digital terrestrial television, a prior and necessary step to complete our understanding of EU actions involving the digital dividend. Having analysed harmonisation process of the digital dividend in the EU, we will pay attention to its impact on the national DTT plans of United Kingdom and Spain. --Broadcasters,Spectrum,Digital Dividend,Harmonization,European Union