A Causal Model Analysis of Spectrum Management Policies

Demand for wireless data and Internet services are expected to grow exponentially, worldwide, in the near future. While regulators of advanced countries have often used centralized planning and coordination approach to forecast and allocate the associated spectrum blocks to wireless operators for meeting the demand, it is often ad-hoc in emerging markets dictated by market forces. In this chapter, the authors construct a casual model to represent the different variables that affect spectrum management practices. The authors discuss possible policy options including release of digital dividend spectrum, spectrum refarming, and secondary markets consisting of spectrum leasing, sharing, and trading. Using the causal model structure, the authors trace paths of evolution of spectrum policies, taking an example each for developed and emerging countries. The authors further hypothesize that emerging countries with their unique market structure, legacy of spectrum management, and ex-poste regulation are better suited to create active secondary markets compared to developed markets.