Liberating Europe's radio spectrum through shared access

Abstract

PurposeThe European telecommunications landscape has been transformed over the past 25 years, but spectrum management has remained largely unchanged. The paper seeks to highlight the need for a more flexible approach to spectrum management and, in particular, the role of shared spectrum access.Design/methodology/approachThe paper draws on a research study to examine the value of shared spectrum access, based on a review of the literature, a survey of European national regulatory authorities, and scenario analysis.FindingsThe paper highlights trends in wireless data growth and, in particular, the impact of 4G cellular mobile technology over the next five years. With pressure also growing on the licence‐exempt bands at 2.4 and 5 GHz, a more flexible approach to spectrum management will be required in future, including light licensing, de‐licensing and spectrum sharing.Originality/valueThe paper brings together a range of evidence to show how the current approach to spectrum management is no longer able to cope with the social and economic demands for the radio spectrum. It should be of value to policy makers, industry analysts and academics.