The Economic Case for Dedicated Unlicensed Spectrum Below 3GHz
Policy Paper
July 1, 2004
There is general agreement that traditional mechanisms for managing radio frequency (RF) spectrum are inefficient and in need of significant reform. Many, if not most, of the economists who have considered the issue appear to concur with the view that increased reliance on market forces would enhance efficiency, and support assigning spectrum via transferable, flexible licenses, especially when spectrum is perceived to be scarce. The FCC’s Spectrum Policy Task Force (SPTF) has endorsed this perspective, advocating only limited use of dedicated unlicensed for lower frequency spectrum (below 3GHz).
Unfortunately, the economic case for additional dedicated unlicensed spectrum in lower frequency bands has not been adequately stated. The goal of this paper is to redress this deficiency and lend economic support to the case that has already been made by an active minority of knowledgeable legal and technical experts in support of the unlicensed model.
The complete 44-page working paper is available below in PDF format, as is an 8-page issue brief on this same topic.