Why Sharing is the Answer to Rising Demand for Spectrum

It is clear that we can’t meet the challenges that arise from increased demand by using the traditional methods of spectrum reallocation, which often take too long and cost too much money. Innovation in spectrum use must be met with innovation in spectrum allocation. The answer is spectrum sharing, a flexible and evolving option that is helping to optimize this resource to the benefit of both the public and private sectors.

Sharing offers increased access to both federal and non-federal users. It’s also more flexible and efficient than the typical process of relocating federal operations. And it’s an improving science – researchers at the Center for Advanced Communications (CAC) in Boulder are focused on cutting-edge spectrum sharing research and development, experimentation and testing. At its core, however, spectrum sharing is nothing new. Business and government already share a large amount of spectrum today. Take the spectrum within the 225 MHz to 3700 MHz range, which has historically been viewed as the most valuable spectrum for commercial use. One of the myths that has entered the conversation around spectrum policy is that the federal government controls as much as 70 percent of that range. However, that figure fails to account for the significant number of shared frequencies that are assigned to both federal and non-federal users on a primary basis.