Spectrum Management

DID YOU KNOW?

While spectrum management remains a matter of national sovereignty, in 2002 the European Union championed strategic thinking around coordination of national policy approaches by creating the Radio Spectrum Policy Group.

The European Commission is embarking on its 5 year Radio Spectrum Policy Programme (RSPP). The RSPP proposal  and the Commission's Impact Assessment recognised a vital role for satellite and noted the need for investment certainty by reference to available spectrum: "The Digital Agenda calls for all Union citizens to have access to broadband of at least 30 Mbps by 2020 ... To complement terrestrial broadband services and ensure coverage of most remote Union areas, affordable satellite broadband access could be a fast and feasible solution."

With most satellite operators offering services across borders and continents and very often on a global basis, the link with the spectrum allocation at international level by the ITU is of fundamental importance. Regional spectrum policies, as long, as they respect the international framework, work as well. However we live in an era of rapid ICT advancement, where governments are under pressure to optimize the efficient use of radio spectrum. As a result, some national regulators now seek to use market forces to assign spectrum rights in an effort to turn radio spectrum into a tradable commodity.

Tools for spectrum management must not hamper the provision of services. The application of market mechanisms to spectrum management is incompatible with the functionality of satellite technology and the inherent international nature of satellite service provision:

1.    It would be impractical, inequitable and cost-prohibitive for satellite operators to cope with a plurality of auctions and/or licensing costs in all countries served with a single satellite footprint. . A footprint cannot be patched together, nor can a signal within that footprint be prevented from landing in a country where market access was not achieved.

2.    A market-based approach to the management of satellite spectrum introduces uncertainty over time and impacts negatively on the investment climate.  Unlike a terrestrial network, which can be rolled out gradually, a satellite operates for close to two decades, incurring significant upfront investment with no possibility to modify its specifications once launched. Satellite operators therefore rely wholly on secure rights to frequencies throughout (i) the whole footprint and (ii) the lifetime of the satellite.

3.    The nature of the satellite business as described in this document means that the sector is highly incentivised to operate efficiently and to maximize the technical performance possible from the limited power and spectrum available. There is therefore no need for artificial incentives created by legislation or regulation.

4.    Important policies such as bridging the (regional/ global) digital divide which are naturally, cost-effectively and easily addressed with satellite services, are put at serious risk if spectrum assignment and fees based on economic theory result in fragmentation of the spectrum and unaffordable charges.

Presentations

   

Satellites and spectrum

SATELLITES AND SPECTRUM