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Written on 10:32 AM by ooe

Some spectrum can be used without payment to the government that owns it. Some such spectrum still requires the user to obtain a licence prior to use and some is set aside for use without any permissions at all, provided certain technical constraints are met. The main example of the latter are the internationally agreed ISM (industrial, scientific and medical) bands, this spectrum often being known as ‘licence-exempt’. Whilst the technical parameters vary by country, the aim is the same – to make spectrum available that may be used on an ad hoc basis without need for prior permission. Example applications include microwave ovens and industrial heaters, wireless LANs and remote control units. Another emerging use of these bands in many countries is for commercial fixed wireless access networks, often focused on delivering data services and based on existing wireless LAN technology.

Within the UK there is an unusual constraint on these bands which limits their licence-exempt use to ‘private self-provided communications’ in effect precluding their use for commercial access networks without a licence. Thus far the government has only issued one commercial use licence per region within the UK.