Not so long ago, the term used to describe how spectrum was divvied up was “beauty contest.” However, things have moved on since the days of pageantry.
Beginning with the advent of 3G, spectrum has been allocated by auction — with the big mobile operators typically landing the highest bids. This has largely remained the status quo for the past two decade or more. But a few years after the introduction of auctions, TV broadcasting started switching from analogue to digital, people working within the telecoms space were coming to the realisation that the switch away from analogue would be freeing up a lot of frequencies.
The question was posed: could these unused frequency bands be opened up for other uses? ‘TV White Space’, as it became known, didn’t happen exactly as evangelists were hoping. But the seed of the idea was planted. And, over time, new initiatives, like CBRS — or Citizens Broadband Radio Service — would sprout, and make use of unused spectrum.
The concept of shared spectrum is now well rooted, and the UK is a global leader in efforts to improve access to lesser used bands. Since 2019, Ofcom has offered shared access licences, making spectrum access possible on a shared basis, in different geographical areas. Innovation projects across the country have backed up the enthusiasm of those early spectrum sharing advocates.
But the system as it currently operates is still a work in progress.
