Need to manage spectrum-related issues at international level as demand rises

Spectrum is a fundamental resource that?s employed in a wireless communication service. It is scarce and is allotted by the government among its users. Its management was not an issue until few years ago, as there were few wireless-based applications. Then it had been liberally allocated to departments such as defence, home and railways; but now with the proliferation of new technologies being inducted into the country, the demand for spectrum by users has increased manifold. The very nature of radio spectrum that is essentially transnational demands that, in the first instance, its use be considered at an international level to avoid interference of radio signals. This comes under the auspices of International Telecommunica-tion Union (ITU). The countries that ratify its regulations have to do their respective spectrum planning in accordance with these regulations. It is therefore vital to understand ITU?s approach of allocation and the institutional structure that has evolved hitherto in dealing with spectrum matters. Spectrum ? Main Considerations * International and multi-sector resource: All countries and several sectors share the radio spectrum. The International Telecommunications Union (ITU) Constitution upholds that spectrum must be equitably shared by all countries. It is used by various organisations like defence, police, intelligence and other security agencies, and sectors like public telecommunications, broadcasting, railways, public utility organisations, oil and electricity grids, atomic energy, mining and steel, shipping and airlines, for a variety of applications. * Techno-economic in character: The management of spectrum has technical as well as economic dimensions. Technical efficiency mainly entails that different uses of radio frequencies do not interfere with each other. Besides, it includes tackling problems related to the use of faulty or non-standard equipment, finding the optimum location for antennas, etc. From the economic efficiency perspective, the moot question is ? how to allocate and assign spectrum? * Essential for development of telecommunications: Achie-ving high teledensity and enhanced competition could be achieved by providing basic (fixed) and mobile telecom services to the people at a faster pace. Both these services can be provided expeditiously by employing wireless technologies. Adequate availability of spectrum thus assumes greater importance. * Its use is regulated: The use of spectrum is regulated internationally as well as nationally. At the international level, countries co-ordinate in the framework of ITU. The ITU member countries adopt measures in order to achieve international harmonisation of the use of spectrum. Further detailed co-ordination takes place at the regional and national level. For instance, European countries co-ordinate under the European Conference of Postal and Telecommunications administrations (CEPT). Based on commitments made under such frameworks, the country assigns spectrum at national level. * Allocation v/s assignment: Although the terms, spectrum allocation and spectrum assignment, may seem to be used interchangeably, there is a difference between both of them. Spectrum allocation means allocation of bands of frequencies for service categories, eg, frequency f1 to f2 for broadcasting, frequency f3 to f4 for fixed and cellular mobile service etc. Allocations do not belong to a user such as a private mobile operator or a government department. Spectrum assignments, on the other hand, are specific assignments of a specific frequency for a specific purpose by a specific licensee in a specific location. Role of ITU in Spectrum Allocation * Need for an international framework: Wireless links must be interference-free because any such interference could affect their quality. Since radio frequencies do not respect national borders, it is necessary that their management, particularly the securing of legal guarantees against any cross border interference must be effected at international level. Also, services of international nature require harmonisation of allocations to allow users to operate safely and effectively. This task of international planning and co-ordination is undertaken by ITU that aims to achieve the following: protection against harmful interference, allocation of services to the various frequency bands in the radio spectrum, and promotion of effective use of the spectrum. * Organisational functioning: ITU agreements on spectrum allocation are set out in the ITU Radio Regulations, which have treaty status. These regulations form an important part of the ITU constitution and convention, and are the primary reference point for all regulators of spectrum management. These are derived from conferences, which are convened at the global as well as regional levels in the form of World Radiocommunication Conferences (WRCs) and Regional Radiocommunica-tion Conferences (RRCs) respectively. WRCs are the most important organ of the ITU. They draft and adopt the principles and rules to manage the use of radio spectrum. They are organised every two to three years in order to review the Radio Regulations. In the recent years, private sector entities have also been allowed to participate in the ITU conferences. However, the right to vote remains a prerogative of member States only. There is a distinction between the ?Members of the Union,? which are only States, and entities & organisations, other than States, are referred to as ?Members of the Sectors?. At present the ITU consists of more than 190 member States and about 500 non-governmental members, which represent manufacturers and operators. * Spectrum allocation process: ITU essentially follows a dual approach in the spectrum allocation process. The overall global framework for spectrum use is provided in the form of International Frequency Allocation Table, which allocates spectrum to broad categories of service such as fixed, mobile, broadcasting or radio-navigation. Some allocations are worldwide, others are regional, ie, uniform throughout a particular region. Depending upon these, a country can assign spectrum to its users. This is called ad hoc frequency distribution method. An alternative is a priori frequency distribution. In this, specific frequency bands and associated service areas are reserved for different countries well in advance of their real use. This is done on the basis of the expected or declared needs of the countries interested. Although all usable frequency bands have been allocated to services, only a small part of them is subject of a priori planning. An assignment in accordance with a priori plan receives protection from any other assignment. In case of ad hoc managed services, protection is given in accordance with the priority of registration dates ? a system described as first-come, first-served.