Spectrum has been described as "the oxygen for the internet", but historically frequencies that are usable for mobile broadband has been only available on a nationwide basis. Realistically, only mobile operators have been able to obtain this spectrum. But as other industries try to take advantage of internet capabilities, particularly… Read more...

1992 was an eventful year. The Cold War officially ended, NAFTA was signed, and the World Administrative Radio Conference (WARC-92) identified the 1980 - 2010 MHz and 2170 - 2200 MHz bands for both the satellite and terrestrial components of Future Public Land Mobile Telecommunication Systems. These agreements were somewhat… Read more...

Who is your first stop for health advice? The world's leading scientists, or a man who thinks "tall, blood-drinking, shape-shifting reptilian humanoids from the Alpha Draconis star system, now hiding in underground bases, are the force behind a worldwide conspiracy against humanity"? When it comes to 5G, the lizard man -… Read more...

The availability of communications services is a fair indicator of economic health and a country’s rising fortunes. Since the end of military rule, Myanmar has gone from a telephone density of 13 per cent to 127 per cent and seen internet users rise from less than two million to over… Read more...

Now in its fifth edition the PolicyTracker Spectrum Handbook is the leading resource for sector professionals seeking to understand the current status and future directions in mobile, satellite and unlicensed spectrum. The 222 page report is based on wide-ranging interviews with key industry professionals from vendors, operators, OTT players, national… Read more...

It’s now pretty obvious that there is widespread concern about the deployment of 5G small cells in residential areas. A quick Google search reveals hundreds of websites, blogs and news stories arguing that using higher frequencies increases the risk of health problems related to exposure to radiofrequency emissions. The problem is that this… Read more...

This course gives a thorough background in competition policy, explaining the latest approaches and how these evolved. It uses a series of global case studies with a particular focus on the EU regulatory framework. Regulating competition in mobile markets considers how to balance the pros and cons in competition policy:… Read more...

Controversy, compromise, and consensus: the latest World Radiocommunication Conference (WRC-19) at Sharm el-Sheikh had it all. Credit must go to the 3400 delegates from 165 ITU member states for their efforts not just over the four weeks of the conference, but throughout the preceding four years of preparatory studies and… Read more...

What were the key events which shaped spectrum management over the past ten years? We asked PolicyTracker staff and they gave a wide range of answers, including the growth of spectrum sharing, the US incentive auction, social networking going mobile and the banning of Huawei. Read more...

Firstly, a happy Christmas to you all and I hope you get at least a small break from work over the next few days. The PolicyTracker office will be closed next week and our news alerts service will be reduced over the holiday season. Secondly, this feels like a good… Read more...