Towards a Fluid Spectrum Market for Exclusive Usage Rights

Abstract

This paper focuses on highly fluid markets for trading exclusive spectrum usage-rights. The purpose of the paper is to underline the need for flexible usage-rights policies, as a core facilitator of such markets as well as to stress the need for a greater technical input to the debate. The paper builds on current work in the field of spectrum property rights and exclusive usage-rights. The first half of the paper captures the current state-of-play and presents a framework for visualizing the concepts involved. The paper goes on to make a clear distinction between the defining of a set of exclusive usage-rights and the exercising of those rights. This leads to a discussion of policies that are not alone about defining metrics and setting their desired values but are also about behaviors that involve negotiation and interaction. Through-out the paper the evolution of technology and its affect on the progress towards the goal of fluid spectrum markets is emphasized, as is the need for a very multifaceted approach to the challenges involved.