Spectrum

Written on 10:32 AM by ooe

All fixed wireless access systems require a portion of the radio spectrum in which to operate. In almost all cases, a licence to use this spectrum must be purchased from the appropriate government agency before the system can be operated or even planned. The size of the radio spectrum is in theory infinite, extending from zero hertz through progressively high frequencies to light, x-rays and beyond. In practice only a very limited part of this spectrum is usable for commercial access systems. Demand for these frequencies is huge and growing all the time with competition to fixed terrestrial access systems coming from uses such as satellite communications, radio astronomy, industrial applications, emergency services, television broadcasting, telemetry, mobile communications, military and medical applications.

The large and ever changing appetite for such a scarce resource leads to a requirement for careful management on national, continental and global fronts, which in turn limits the amount of spectrum available for fixed wireless access use at any point in time. Suitable parts of the radio spectrum, or bands, are usually made available by a national government when agreement is reached with all other previous or potential users of the spectrum and there is judged to be significant interest from operators.

Would-be fixed wireless access operators therefore face the difficult situation where their ability to deploy a network is dependent on being able to obtain a licence for suitable spectrum from the local government, who may or may not make such licences available at some point in future. This makes spectrum an absolutely essential ingredient in any planning or operation of wireless networks.