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To provide an evaluation of an EU spectrum policy proposal aimed at furthering the goals of the i2010 Information Society initiative.

This paper revisits the methodology premised on neoclassical principles devised by Ronald Coase. An evaluation of EU spectrum reform based on the work of J.R. Commons is proposed.

The approach by Coase fails to take into account the need for institutional reform of the spectrum management process. The approach of J.R. Commons identifies areas that will have to be addressed if the proposals for EU spectrum reform are to be met.

The methodology advanced by J.R. Commons provides a more complete account of interdependent variables associated with spectrum management and is likely to lead to workable solutions to this complex policy problem. However, it is less theoretically coherent than Coase's model.

Recommendations for reform and problem areas are suggested that consider both market and extra‐market valuation of the spectrum resource.

This paper addresses this issue and provides an alternative model based on institutional economic analysis using the methodology given by J.R. Commons.

The paper aims to analyse the development of broadcast radio in the USA during the 1920 s, focusing on the legislative and regulatory background, considering the broadcasting spectrum, programme content, and nature of radio as an information resource at that time.

An analysis of primary materials, and of recent secondary materials, is carried out.

The legislative and regulatory framework failed to take note of the unique attributes of information resources, and attempted to treat them in the same manner as more traditional resources. Records of the early days of USA radio are very limited. More positively, radio information resources played a major part in developing several aspects of society, including education, agriculture, and jazz culture.

The study shows lessons for development of current information society. The research is limited to one communication medium, in one country, in one decade. It is not a full historical analysis of the development of radio broadcasting, rather it is limited to information resource aspects, largely of public sector broadcasting.

The paper is the first study of the early development of radio broadcasting from an information perspective. It shows the value of the “information‐as‐resource” model for analysing developments in the communication of information.

Proposes a framework for the constructive application of 3G auctions. Suggests that other forms of auctions should be investigated, especially where the policy priority is rapid network rollout. Sums up that early experience with the 3G auctions in Europe points to several conclusions about efficient spectrum allocation and assignment.

The purpose of this paper is to propose technology-independent metrics for measuring spectrum utilization efficiency and spectrum sharing which could prove useful in spectrum management. Radio spectrum is considered a scarce resource. The rapid rise in all kinds of wireless devices emphasizes the need for spectrum usage efficiency and spectrum sharing. Notably in license exempt spectrum, the increased density of radio devices requires new methods of evaluating their performance.

The authors go back to the fundamentals of spectrum utilization and show that under high usage conditions, wireless network performance is interference limited. The impact of interference depends both on the environment and on the type of modulation used. The authors use these factors to derive the above metrics.

The main findings of this work are metrics for spectrum utilization and sharing that are technology-independent and therefore widely applicable, notably to license exempt spectrum. These metrics provide increased visibility of receiver performance in determining spectrum use. The authors also find that the capacity of a wireless network is for all practical purposes unlimited – provided the appropriate choices of the technical parameters are made, recognizing the impact of the propagation environment.

Because the authors proceed from simplifying assumptions, detailed analysis and prediction of spectrum-sharing cases may require additional parameters to be added to the equations given.

The results of this work have potential application in spectrum management and in the development of regulatory requirements for license exempt spectrum.

New in this paper is the derivation of spectrum utilization and sharing metrics from first principles that allow different technologies to be compared. The authors also show that, given the right choice of technical parameters, the capacity of wireless networks is practically unlimited.

As wealth and income increase, so too does the desire and ability to communicate with others. Suggests the opposite conclusion: that the link between telecommunications access and income levels is a causality that runs in the opposite direction – increased telecommunications access leads to increases in incomes. Discrimination against such access for the less developed countries is one of the great disparities of the twenty‐first century.

This paper seeks to examine current trends in spectrum management and implications for developing countries.

The paper summarizes the findings of an extensive review of recent literature on spectrum management. It addresses three questions: What is the case for spectrum management reform? What is the current debate on spectrum management all about? Why does this matter to developing countries?

Traditional spectrum management practice has led to technical and economic inefficiencies as well as obstacles to technological innovation. Two alternative approaches are being tried, one driven by the market (spectrum property rights) and another driven by technology innovation (commons). Practical solutions are evolving that combine some features of both. Although these changes are mainly taking place in high‐income countries, they are deeply relevant to developing countries as well.

Improving traditional administration of the spectrum in many developing countries would yield significant benefits, but governments may wish to consider moving straight into property rights or commons approaches. Countries at an early stage of building up spectrum management capacity may benefit from adopting new solutions from the start. These may be especially well suited for low‐ and middle‐income countries.

The paper offers a concise overview of major current trends in spectrum management, against which the responses of developing countries can be examined. The paper is extensively annotated and includes a selection of references, many of which are accessible online.

The purpose of this paper is to characterise opportunity cost associated with the development of spectrum.

Differential Ricardian rent theory is used in the paper to explain the relationship between the development of spectrum along internal and external margins. Opportunity cost is introduced to characterise the link between spectrum and spectrum substitutes.

The study finds that workable strategies for spectrum reform require that economic externalities be internalised. Opportunity cost considerations can serve to improve spectrum management policy by justifying policy constraints and distribute the spectrum to the user with the best relative use.

Ricardian rent theory assumes that the “best” spectrum would be utilised first. In addition, there is no objective value‐based unit of spectrum and this limits the efficacy of Ricardo's theory.

The paper provides a more coherent explanation spectrum development and the spectrum management reform process.

The study provides a model for policy makers to introduce incremental change in the advent of novel wireless technologies

COVID-19 has influenced the way we utilise the radio spectrum in terms of increasing data rates, the localisation of usage, and the transfer of traffic from urban to rural areas. Most regulators have shown sympathy towards operator requirements, stipulating a range of mitigation actions including allowing technology neutrality and temporary assignments. Internationally, the ITU-R suspended all physical meetings and launched a new global network resiliency platform named ‘REG4COVID’ to share experiences including those related to spectrum management.

It is argued in this chapter that the pandemic has supported the calls for additional unlicensed spectrum for Wi-Fi in the 6 GHz and accelerated the rollout of 5G. Moreover, despite of increasing use of streaming, it is quite difficult to assume that traditional linear TV will be replaced, at least in the near future for a variety of reasons. The pandemic has also raised the question as to whether an innovative assignment model could be used to assign the spectrum instead of auctions, and whether, in some countries where temporary assignments were made, frequencies are kept unutilised or reserved. Concerning international spectrum management, it is expected that WRC-23 will be held on time though there will be some implications for issues such as the regulatory time-limits for bringing into use satellite networks frequency assignments. Finally, it is argued that the pandemic has also demonstrated the importance of flexibility and agility in national spectrum management, and placed spectrum managers in a new position where they were forced to be proactive instead of their traditional reactive role.

New technologies challenge the traditional view that the radio spectrum must be tightly controlled and the new orthodoxy that a market‐based approach is the most efficient way to manage the spectrum. This article aims to make the case for collective use of the spectrum.

The paper draws on a range of literature, both technical and economic, as well as the authors' opinions to describe the economic context, market and other models for spectrum allocation, technological advances in signal processing, and the way forward for assessing future spectrum management policy, with particular reference to Europe.

Technical advances, from research in the commercial domain and from release of military research, combined with the increasingly important economic need to facilitate innovation in new radio technologies, demand a debate on a new approach to spectrum management policy.

The paper brings together the economic and technical arguments in favour of collective use of the radio spectrum and will be of value to academics, business and policy makers.

This paper aims to describe a case study of the FCC, dealing with relieving the tension between technical innovation and the regulation of applications of technology.

The author's experience as Chief Scientist of the FCC is used to show how the innovations of the information age were accommodated under the procedures governing the regulation of communications.

The success of the rapid introduction of digital information technology and networking, replacing analog telephony and inflexible technical rules governing the use of the electromagnetic spectrum, resulted from relatively minor modifications in staffing of a technical planning office lacking currency with the innovations in the technology supporting the communication and broadcasting industries. The support of the chairman, the commissioners, and their confidence in the leadership of the office were critical to success.

Leading a regulatory agency to helping rather than hindering progress speaks for itself.