Spectrum Management Improvement Proposals: Marketplace Approaches

In the United States, unprecedented attention to spectrum allocation and assignment issues exemplifies the current worldwide debate over fundamental spectrum management principles. A 1991 study by the National Telecommunications and. Information Administration (NTIA) proposed greater reliance on market-based techniques in U.S. spectrum management, particularly competitive bidding (auctions) in the assignment of licenses, and greater flexibility in spectrum allocation. Two current reform proposals now pending in the United States seek to implement some limited market-based reforms to the U.S. process. Moreover, New Zealand and the United Kingdom are leaders in the adoption of market- oriented reforms. This paper discusses the U.S. proposals, and the New Zealand and U.K. experiences, in the context of the theory of market-based spectrum management.