Spectrum

Management
Fundamentals
Part 1 ‐ International
Version 3

The Need for Spectrum
Management
 Presentation Roadmap

• The Radio Spectrum

• Users of the resource

• A look at trends and challenges.

• Major functions of Spectrum Management.

• Benefits of efficient and effective spectrum

management.
 What is “Spectrum”?

• Radio frequencies - 10 kHz to 3000 GHz

• A scarce but renewable public resource

• Cannot be confined within national borders

• Used and managed through international treaties and

national policies

• Vital to economic, social & cultural life

 A Limited Resource?

• The radio frequency spectrum is not an 
inexhaustible resource. It is a very precious 
resource which must be managed to ensure 
efficient and equitable access for the services 
which use it.
 The Spectrum Environment
n Existing Allocations
n growth industry 1.3 million licences and increasing by CAGR 7% p.a. since
1970

n Major New Allocations

n radio local area networks (LAN's)
n personal communications services (PCS)
n digital radio broadcasting (DRB)
n mobile satellite services
n wireless local access
n high definition television
Spectrum Dependent Telecommunications Services
to the Year 2000
Telex
Broadband data
Packet-switched data
Circuit-switched data
Telemetry
Telex Text facsimile
Medium-speed Facsimile
data Colour facsimile

Increased Dependency on the

Electronic Mail
Telex Telenewspaper
Data Videotex
Sound Low-speed data Speech Fascimile

Radio Spectrum
Photo facsimile Telephony
Telex Hi-fi telephony
Telegraphy Photo facsimile Photo facsimile Telephone conf.
Telephony Videoconference
Telegraphy o Video telephony
Telephony Telephony Telephony Stereo hi-fi sound
Telegraphy Telegraphy DAB
High definition T.V.
Television Stereo hi fi Sound Global Positioning
Colour Television Telegraphy VSAT
Mobile Telephony Stereo hi fi Sound CT2 +
Colour Television Mobile Facsimile
Mobile data
Mobile Telephony
Wireless Lans
Paging Paging
Mobile Satellite
Personal
Communications

1847 1877 1930 1960

1975
2000
Uses of the Radio Spectrum
n radio & television AM, FM, TV
n microwave & satellite
n mobile radio
Õ taxi, courier, trucking, cellular, paging
n safety services
Õ air traffic control, police, fire, ambulance, marine
n manufacturing
Õ arc welders, plastic sealers, gluing machines
n energy
Õ pipeline control, security
n health
Õ heart monitors
n consumer devices
Õ cordless telephones, garage door openers,
microwave ovens
 Management Variables

• There are several variables one must consider 
when managing the spectrum resource
– Political issues, both national and international
– The effect of spectrum use on society
– Economic impacts
– Technical considerations
 The Political Issues

• The political issues include:
– Access to global and national spectrum resources;
– International cooperation;
– Sovereignty
– Culture and national identity
– National economic wellbeing
– The state of national technological Development
 A Global Resource

• The radio frequency spectrum is freely 
available to whomever wants to use it.
• But when one service uses an available 
portion of the spectrum it is no longer 
available for other services without mutual 
interference.
• Eventually, as users demand access, the 
scarce resource will be fully used. 
 Control of Information

• The demand for access to the spectrum 
resource will inevitably increase as society 
moves through the “information age”, 
creating a need for ever more “Information 
Bandwidth.”
• Whoever controls the access to the spectrum 
will also control much of the means of 
conveying information.
 No Access?

• But what if access to spectrum resources is 
denied?
• There certainly will be dire social and 
economic consequences:
– national identity and culture can be affected;
– economic transactions are more difficult and 
infrequent;
– undesirable political outcomes can ensue.
Spectrum Management: a multiplier of wealth
 The Multiplier Effect

Spectrum Management
Program Costs

Radiocommunication
Industry Annual
Revenues
Leverage 62x
 New Opportunities for Country

Product &
Spectrum - Jobs &
Service
An Essential National
Definition,
Ingredient Wealth
Development
& Marketing
Trends in the Management of the Spectrum

• Significant and rapid growth

• Globalization of services

• Implications of the internet

• Integration of services

• Safety, privacy issues

Trends in the Management of the Spectrum (cont’d)

• Unexplored regions of spectrum

• New technology

• Collaboration with industry

• Alternative spectrum licensing

processes
 SPECTRUM MANAGEMENT

• Administration of a natural resource --- key to

economic health of telecommunications.

• Addresses international and domestic components

• Ensures interference-free access to the

radiofrequency spectrum for as many users and as

many uses as is possible

• Large revenue generator

 SPECTRUM MANAGEMENT MODEL
RADIO ENVIRONMENT

SHIP SURVEYS
LICENSED STATIONS
SURVEYS AM/FM/TV/CATV
MINISTERIAL ENQUIRIES
INVESTIGATIONS SERVICES SERVICES
INVESTIGATIONS RADIO COMMUNICATIONS
INVESTIGATIONS GENERAL PUBLIC
USER DEMANDS SURVEILLANCE SERVICES

SENSING THE RADIO

ENVIRONMENT

INSPECTION

PLANNING
RADIO REGULATORY
STATIONS CHANGE
SPECTRUM SURVEILLANCE
LICENSING COMPLIANCE
ANALYSIS
DIRECTED
CORRECTIVE ACTION
ENFORCEMENT
IMPERFECTIONS INVESTIGATIONS

DATA
BASE
EXEMPT STATIONS
APPLICATIONS STATIONS LICENCES
FEES OPERATORS CERTIFICATES

UNLICENSED STATIONS
 International Cooperation

• It is only natural that each nation wants sole 
access to their share of the global resource, to 
use for their own purposes.
• But the nature of the medium is that 
electromagnetic energy does not respect 
man‐made national boundaries.
• Thus coordination of access to the spectrum 
depends on international cooperation.
 International Citizenship

• Because access to the radio frequency spectrum is vital to 
meet national political, cultural, social and economic 
objectives, it is in the national interest for nations to 
participate in international cooperative processes: to be good 
international citizens.
• To coordinate the many activities and agreements that 
ensure cooperation, the International Telecommunications 
Union (or ITU) is charged with developing the processes 
whereby the coordination is brought about.
• National concerns over access to the spectrum centre on 
issues of sovereignty: the right for a nation to determine for 
itself how the spectrum resource will be applied to the 
national benefit.
 Communications and Society

• There are many uses of communications 
technology which advance the structure of 
society.
• Without telecommunications, commerce is 
limited, extra pressure is placed on other less 
advanced (and more expensive) 
infrastructure, and the sense of national 
community disintegrates
 Examples
• Telephones reduce the need for people to travel to maintain contact: 
– this at once reduces the pressure on roads and other transport infrastructure; 
and
– develops a broader sense of community and family, by extending the distances 
over which communication is practical.
• Broadcasting can efficiently and effectively convey a sense of national 
purpose.
– It can also significantly contribute to a sense of national culture and identity.
– In times of emergency, broadcasting provides a means of rapid 
communication with the people.
• Mobile communications facilitate the movement of goods; the timely  
availability of services; better public safety; enhanced national defence  
capability, and so on.
– Mobile communications also mean better personal communications 
and faster business decisions.
 Reduction in the “Information
Float”
• These examples serve to illustrate the role of 
communications in the collapse of “the 
information float”, in which the speed and 
frequency of transactions increases, because 
the delays in communication are reduced.
 Radiocommunication and
Culture
• In the national context, it is considered important to 
maintain a sense of identity through culture.
• Broadcasting, using the national spectrum resource, 
facilitates the development of a cultural ethos – a 
national identity.
• The cultural identity, established through reliable 
and efficient mass communication, reinforces 
societal structures; it consolidates language; and it 
helps to develop a common national purpose.
 Beyond Culture

• Modern “Information Societies” would be 
incapable of functioning without the services 
provided by radio communications.
• The conduct of commerce, the means by 
which we generate wealth in an information 
society, depends on the availability of reliable 
communications.
 Radio Services

• The infrastructure that allows us to engage in 
commerce is also critical, including:
– national defence;
– public safety, including police and emergency 
services;
– navigation, including marine, air – and 
increasingly land vehicular;
– business and industrial communications;
– personal communication ‐ pagers, mobile phones, 
fax and mobile data services.
 Spectrum as a Commodity

• The radio frequency spectrum has economic 
value in its own right: as a traded resource or 
a commodity.
• Like any other commodity, it can be assigned 
a commercial value and licences to use the 
spectrum can be sold to users.
 Adding Value

• Communications technology also adds value 
to other economic activity.
• It does this by:
– increasing the speed and volume of possible 
transactions;
– reducing the time required to compete 
transactions (ie. reducing the “information float”);
– enlarging the potential reach of products into a 
global market place instead of a small village or 
cottage industry.
 Gaining Access

• While the spectrum resource is potentially 
available to all, access is only available to 
those who have the technology to make use 
of it.
• Even with the technology, spectrum space is 
only available if somebody else is not already 
using it, or there is no interference making the 
spectrum channel unusable.
 Technological Complexity

• As technology increases in complexity, it can 
be made to better use the spectrum: 
technological complexity can be traded to 
accommodate more services in a given 
spectrum space.
• The technological complexity needed in a 
system is determined by the demands users 
place on the system.
 The Need for Coordination
• The full benefits of the available spectrum 
capacity can only be realised if the service 
provisions are effectively and efficiently 
coordinated to match the national needs as 
they are identified, now and into the future.
• Thus the coordinating authority must be 
aware of what demands will be placed on the 
spectrum into the future.
 Minimising Interference

• If the available spectrum capacity is to be 
used for productive services, the sources of 
interference unproductively using the 
spectrum must be minimised.
• These sources can include natural or 
environmental noise, man‐made noise (from 
machinery or industrial processes), or from 
wanted signals inadvertently appearing in 
unwanted parts of the spectrum.
 Spectrum Managers’ Roles
• The spectrum manager has the task of ensuring fair, open and 
flexible access to the spectrum, with the aim of providing the 
best possible service to users of the spectrum.
• The spectrum manager also has a responsibility for forward 
planning, so that new services can be provided as they are 
needed.
• Thus spectrum managers can ensure timely access to the 
spectrum by forward planning, regulation and the application 
of consistent regulatory procedures.
• National processes will ideally operate in a framework of 
international regulatory standardisation.
 The Role of the ITU

• The ITU, through a process of consultation and 
review, promulgates regulations designed to 
coordinate the provision of various radio services.
• The ITU Radiocommunication Sector is responsible 
for these activities. The ITU Radiocommunication 
Sector consists of:
– The ITU Radio Communication Bureau
– The ITU Radio Regulation Board
– The ITU Radiocommunication Study Groups.
 The ITU

• Intergovernmental UN- affiliated organization

• Membership: 185 countries & organizations
• Annual budget: US$ 150 million
• Employees: 900
• Location: Geneva (headquarters) & 12 regional
offices
 ITU Structure

Plenipotentiary
Conf. & Council
Sec.Gen.

Radio- Tele- Development

communication communication
WRC WTSC WTDC
RRB SGs SGs SGs
Radiocomm. Bureau Telec. Std. Bureau Telec. Devel. Bureau
BR TSB BDT
ITU Radiocommunication Sector

STUDY GROUPs
Recommendations

Conferences
(WRC) Radio Regulations

ADMs Radiocom.
BUREAU (BR) Rules of Procedures
Radio 9kHz spectrum 300GHz
Regulations
BOARD (RRB)
orbit
 ITU Radio Regulations

• TABLE OF FREQUENCY
ALLOCATION
ITU ITU ITU ITU

RR RR RR RR • REGULATORY PROCEDURES
- advance publication / coordination /
notification & plans
• ARTICLES
RR • APPENDICES
• RESOLUTIONS
Major Elements of Spectrum Management

ITU

SPECTRUM
MANAGEMENT
n Spe
r i zatio c
Con trum
A utho Planning trol

&
Engineering
 ITU

Policy - Legislative - Regulatory

Umbrella

National
Application & National
Application & Frequency
Fees Received FrequencyPlan
Plan
Fees Received
Technical
TechnicalAnalysis
Analysis
totoassign/ "Control"
assign/ "Control"
approve * *Monitoring
approvefrequency
frequency Issue Monitoring
* *Complaints
Issue Complaints
License * *Inspections
License Inspections
* *Investigation
Investigation
Int’l
Int’lCo-ordination
Co-ordination
Licensee

Annual
Annual
Renewals
Renewals
 ITU MODEL

NATIONAL
FREQUENCY
MANAGEMENT UNIT

CO-ORDINATION CO-ORDINATION INSPECTION

POLICY AND OF INTERNATIONAL ASSIGNMENT ENGINEERING AND
REGULATIONS CONFERENCES LICENSING AND SUPPORT MONITORING
& MEETINGS NOTIFICATIONS

COMPUTER
SUPPORT

TRAINING
 Radiocommunication Bureau

• The ITU Radiocommunications Bureau:
– maintains a data base on spectrum use, and 
analyses and publishes data from the database;
– publishes and provides training in regulations, 
administrative procedures and standards;
– investigates cases of harmful interference;
– provides assistance to the Radiocommunication 
Study Groups.
 Radio Regulation Board

• The ITU Radio Regulation Board plays an 
arbitration and formal review role, ensuring 
consistency of application of conference 
decisions and the resolution of extraordinary 
matters.
 Radiocommunication Study Groups

• The ITU Radiocommunication Study Groups 
study Questions and formulate 
Recommendations on:
– use of the radio frequency spectrum in terrestrial 
and space radiocommunication (and of 
geostationary orbiting satellites);
– Characteristics and performance of radio systems;
– Operation of radio stations;
– radiocommunication aspects of distress and safety 
matters.
 Summary
• Formal, standardised regulatory processes facilitate optimal use of the 
finite global resource that is the electromagnetic spectrum.
• National governments and regulatory agencies have a responsibility to 
participate in the optimisation process.
• National social, economic and technical interests are enhanced by 
regulating  access to the spectrum resource to ensure fair, equitable and 
timely access to potential users.
• The national regulatory environment operates in an international
framework.
• National spectrum managers should have due regard to the international 
regulatory processes and practices, while optimising national spectrum 
use in the national interest.
• The ITU provides a consistent international framework for efficient and 
effective regulatory practices.
 For More Information
• ITU Handbook on National Spectrum 
Management. Geneva: ITU 
Radiocommunication Bureau. Chapter 1
• An internet tutorial guide containing learning 
outcomes and discussion questions is 
available through the ITU.
• E‐mail discussion sessions are available to 
enrolled course participants.
 Thank you!

Any Questions please?