Spectrum Managers Overlooked, But Gain Importance as Wireless Services Increase, ITU Chief Says
DUBAI -- Given the high priority of spectrum issues, it’s extraordinary that spectrum management is still such a relatively obscure and isolated field, ITU Secretary-General Hamadoun Toure said at Tuesday’s PolicyTracker Middle East spectrum conference. Those who become managers are often engineers with little knowledge of the legal, economic and negotiation skills needed for managing spectrum, he said. As wireless services come to dominate the spectrum landscape, there’s growing public recognition of spectrum management, he said. The ITU is looking at ways to help governments, particularly in developing countries, deal with spectrum issues in the real world, he said. The ITU, and events like the one in Dubai, are “shaping the future itself,” but that won’t happen without the tireless efforts of spectrum managers, said Toure.
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"Disruptive change” is happening, said Osman Sultan, CEO of United Arab Emirates telecom provider Du. New behaviors such as social networking are spurring new organizations, competition and players, he said. The business model is changing from simply infrastructure to an ecosystem of networks, services and content, he said. The change is probably inducing new civilizations, he said.
The “digital flow” of content will be an increasingly important challenge and opportunity for the dwindling spectrum supply, Sultan said. Internet access is not only a basic human need, but is becoming an essential human right, he said. The organization of the new ecosystem can only take place on the global level if there are appropriate rules governing fairness, transparency and accountability, he said. The future must be shaped “with a lot of ambition” but also with “a lot of humility,” he said. Customers and citizens are in charge, not telecom operators, he said.
It’s predicted that 1800 MHz of spectrum will be needed by 2020 for advanced data and voice services, said InterConnect Communications consultant John Berry. The communications sector appears headed to 4G, he said. “Utopia” may be regional harmonization, but there are obstacles, he said. Even the fastest moving country is slow in shifting public spectrum to commercial uses, he said, because liberalization and refarming are politically difficult. Service and technology neutrality negate a common end-point, and national governments want separate spectrum policies, he said. Spectrum fees, auctions and awards will also determine the final outcome, he said.
There is no one-size-fits-all solution, Berry said. Governments should embrace spectrum liberalization while accepting national differences, he said. They should harmonize spectrum where possible, manage roaming, and coordinate spectrum use at their borders, he said. Regulators must make and communicate their spectrum management plans, Berry said. Above all, they should make progress, he said.
In common with many ITU Region I countries, the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) area appears to be developing WiMAX in the 3.4 GHz or 2.3 GHz band, and LTE in the 800 MHz and 2.6 GHz bands, said Bahrain Telecommunications Regulatory Authority Spectrum Advisor David Court. GCC members -- Bahrain, Kuwait, Oman, Qatar, Saudi Arabia and the UAE -- have agreed to allow mobile services in the 800 MHz band, but are in various stages of refarming spectrum and deciding what to do in the other bands, he said.
More spectrum could be made available for the Middle East, said spectrum consultant Amit Nagpal. The high take-up of satellite and cable TV services in the area could mean that economic benefits are maximized if more spectrum is on hand for wireless broadband offerings, he said. But countries can’t go it alone, because handset costs will be prohibitive, he said. To bridge the digital divide, frequency bands that are common across the region must be built into handsets as standard, and they must be frequencies that allow low-cost handsets, he said.