In 1970, Joni Mitchell disparagingly complained about Americans destroying paradise to put up a parking lot. A couple of decades later, urban planners finally realized that bulldozing neighborhoods to site large blocks of high-rise housing did not yield sustainable, vibrant communities – it did just the opposite. So why, then, as we approach the second quarter of the 21st century, do we see so many clinging to the idea that in spectrum, we need to clear existing systems and users and replace them with networks run by the Big Three cellular carriers?
It comes down to this: the big carriers have no incentive to share radio spectrum. Since cellular radio became popular in the 1980s, these carriers have learned that if they and their trade associations gripe loud enough about not having sufficient spectrum, sooner or later their complaints are rewarded.
Other wireless interests don’t see things the same way that the licensed carriers do. In the past few years, technologists have cranked up the innovation cycle to enable Wi-Fi and other systems to share radio spectrum, even when others are using it.
With this approach, consumers and the U.S. economy win big, as a single piece of radio spectrum can simultaneously support multiple purposes. In fact, enabling radio systems to coexist and share spectrum is now an important – and proven – option for managing our increasingly crowded airwaves. In just the past few weeks:
- The Aspen Institute issued its recommendations for the pending National Spectrum Strategy, highlighting the need to “…develop and implement effective spectrum sharing technologies, governance frameworks, and enforcement mechanisms.”
- The Wireless Future Project at New America authored a paper for the Telecommunications Research Policy Council’s 2024 research conference, proposing that 1,675 MHz of federal spectrum should be explored for sharing with commercial systems that are limited to lower power, indoor use requirements, thereby enabling existing and future federal systems to operate.
- The National Science Foundation recently identified a list of 10 key priorities for wireless research, each focused on advancing our understanding of how radio systems can coexist or share spectrum.
- Meanwhile, the federal government has embarked on an initiative to substantially advance the tools and methods for sharing spectrum.
It’s time to put those bulldozers back in the garage and focus on a more sustainable path forward for spectrum utilization: coexistence and sharing.