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What is spectrum management?

Our Weekly Spectrum Briefing usually talks about a current policy issue but recently we have been going back to basics, reconsidering some fundamental questions. The first being what is spectrum management?

| Martin Sims

Surprisingly, national regulators rarely give definitions, so we are suggesting our own. We argue that spectrum management controls the airwaves for the benefit of society.

This raises as many questions as it answers:

  • Do we need to control spectrum?
  • If so, why?
  • What are these benefits?
  • Why might they not be realised?

Our first article considers these issues. It’s part of a six-section Spectrum 101, the others are listed below. There’s also our spectrum policy 101 podcast, which consists of four episodes featuring several experts explaining the history, basics, economics, and future of spectrum policy.

Big questions like these are always debatable, so please feel free to comment. Or if you are a newcomer to the subject, we hope it will be a useful introduction.

The PolicyTracker Spectrum 101

  1. What is spectrum management
  2. Spectrum terminology glossary
  3. A history of spectrum policy
  4. The evolution of spectrum auctions
  5. 5G spectrum
  6. 5G verticals
  7. Spectrum Policy 101 Podcast

By | Martin Sims
Martin is the Managing Director and Lead Analyst at PolicyTracker. He has over 20 years of spectrum policy experience.