Blog

“The finance minister has stars in his eyes!”

Some spectrum licences are also licences for governments to print money.

| Martin Sims

However, in the century or more of commercial usage of the airwaves, that is a relatively recent development.

It started with the enormous sums paid for mobile licences in the 1990s, and for some, this is an enchantment which has beguiled and distracted policy-makers ever since—hence the title of this blog. The quote comes from an anecdote in the third episode of our Spectrum 101 Podcast: Successes and failures of spectrum liberalisation.

It features two economics professors with great expertise in the spectrum field, Martin Cave and Gerard Pogorel. They discuss the usefulness of market mechanisms for implementing the wider range of policy goals associated with spectrum management, ranging from competition to universal service and economic growth.

All the episodes are open-access and available on the leading podcasting platforms. You can also listen to the podcast on YouTube here.

Blog

Img Alt

Newsletter

Discover why hundreds of regulators and technology companies use our services

SUBSCRIBE
Comments
Telefónica criticises EU Orange/MásMóvil merger decision
The Spanish government approved the..." by Mirva Villa
Mar 13, 2024
Exclusive: Director of the ITU Radiocommunication Bureau on WRC-23 
Noted and amended. Many thanks Nikolai." by Laura Sear
Mar 13, 2024
Exclusive: Director of the ITU Radiocommunication Bureau on WRC-23 
Not everyone knows that NOW4WRC23..." by Nikolai Shienok
Mar 13, 2024
Regulators should prioritise social welfare, not infrastructure targets
Richard, thanks for amending the text...." by Nikolai Shienok
Feb 16, 2024
Regulators should prioritise social welfare, not infrastructure targets
Thanks for spotting this Nikolai. We've..." by Richard Haas
Feb 16, 2024