Government Command and Control-The Problem

Government Command and Control-The Problem
The theory back in the 1930s was that only the government could be trusted to manage this scarce
resource and ensure that no one got too much of it. Unfortunately, spectrum policy is still predominantly a
command and control process that requires government officials-instead of spectrum users-to determine
the best use for spectrum and make value judgments about proposed and often overhyped uses and
technologies. It is an entirely reactive and too easily politicized process.
In the last 20 years, two alternative models to command and control have developed, and both have
flexibility at their core. First, the exclusive use or quasi-property-rights model, which provides exclusive,
licensed rights to flexible-use frequencies, is subject only to limitations on harmful interference. These
rights are freely transferable. Second, the commons or open-access model, which allows users to share
frequencies on an unlicensed basis and has usage rights that are governed by technical standards, but
has no right to protection from interference. The Commission has employed both models with significant
success. Licensees in mobile wireless services have enjoyed quasi-property-right interests in their
licensees and transformed the communications landscape as a result. In contrast, the unlicensed bands
employ a commons model and have enjoyed tremendous success as hotbeds of innovation.