Europe Must Make ‘Conceptual Leap’ to Spectrum Trading, EC Official Says
BARCELONA -- Europe needs “a fundamental reversal” in its handling of spectrum issues, a European Commission (EC) official said here Tues. Spectrum trading may be the “major next step” regulators must tackle, demanding political agreement, said Peter Scott, head of policy development for the EC Information Society & Media Directorate-Gen. Spectrum trading will involve a “conceptual leap” from govt. assignment of spectrum to monitoring and enforcement, Scott said at a European e- communications regulatory forum sponsored by the EC and the European Conference of Postal & Telecom Administrations (CEPT).
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Spectrum reform is being driven by the need for a system able to respond to changes in demand and technology, manage interference, and resolve conflicts between competing demands, Scott said. The solution seems to lie in finding the right mix between Europe’s traditional “command and control” approach, spectrum trading in selected areas, and a “commons” model for some bands. The commons model offers the potential to overcome scarcity of a limited resource by letting many applications share the same band, he said. Europe’s experience with such sharing so far has been limited to low-power bands.
For regulators contemplating spectrum policy, the public interest is key, said Paul Margie, spectrum & international aide to FCC Comr. Copps. Rules must maximize use of technologies even when it’s not clear what’s coming tomorrow, he said. Regulators shouldn’t force innovation into a constrained regulatory system that would sap regulations’ primary responsibility; at the same time, they must protect the public’s interest in avoiding interference with other technologies, he said. Because interference could undermine the rights of existing users, Margie said, regulators must “strike the perfect balance.”
No country has found that balance, Margie said. But the U.S. experience with ultra wideband and other technologies leads Margie to believe regulators should craft a legal standard for interference rather than dealing with it on a case-by-case basis as technologies emerge, he said. The standard should maximize the output of spectrum resources rather than minimizing interference, Margie said.
Simply barring all interference would hobble certain technologies, Margie said. Most countries ban some level of interference; the U.S. problem is where to set that level, he said. But regulators know a one-size-fits-all setting isn’t workable. Any rules must recognize the importance of limiting interference in some socially critical bands, such as those used by the military and police, Margie said.