Can markets give us more radio spectrum?

[Commentary] For years politicians (both Republicans and Democrats), regulators, telecom providers, and just about anyone who uses a cellular phone or Wi-Fi have been saying that the US needs more radio spectrum for commercial two-way communications. Steps are being taken — for example, the Federal Communications Commission conducted an incentive auction to move radio spectrum from broadcasting to two-way communications. Another strategy would be to loosen regulatory controls on radio spectrum markets.

Current practice is a “rights to use” model. Since licensing is really about managing interference, licenses could deal with this directly with something like a “rights to interfere and rights to not be interfered with” approach. Company A’s license could read something like: “Don’t cause more than X interference in radio spectrum bands Y and Z without the agreement of Companies B and C.” So as long as A, B, and C are happy, the FCC would be happy, too.

[Mark Jamison is the director and Gunter Professor of the Public Utility Research Center at the University of Florida’s Warrington College of Business.]