The Future of Spectrum Allocation Efficiency and Balance

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The Future of Spectrum AllocationEfficiency and
Balance

• Stephen Farrugia
• Engineering Director

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Overview

• General Discussion
• Demand for Spectrum is increasing
• Who wants to use it?
• How can we maximise its value?
• Broadcast Spectrum Specifics

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• Demand from consumers is increasing
• More media content
• Better quality
• When I want it
• Anywhere I want it

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• How to satisfy these demands?
• Cable/Fibre
• Satellite
• Terrestrial

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• Consumer Score Card
• Technology
• Service

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1
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• Who wants to use Spectrum?
• Community groups
• Broadcasters
• Telecommunications operators
• Internet Service Providers
• Government

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• How can we maximise its value?
• Make the most of the digital era
• Match spectrum to desired purpose
• Minimise guard bands

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• Technology is improving
• Processing power
• Receiver battery consumption
• Displays
• Storage

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• Matching terrestrial spectrum with its best use
• Lower frequencies are bandwidth limited but have
  great wide area propagation
• High and Ultra high frequencies provide good
  point to multi-point coverage at a usable
  bandwidth
• UHF and above incur high obstruction losses so
  best used for point to point

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• Minimising guards bands
• Application specific
• Can be managed by restricting equipment
  performance

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• What about the Broadcast Spectrum?
• MF
• HF
• VHF Band 1
• VHF Band 2 (plus 5A)
• VHF Band 3
• UHF

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• What strengths does the current Television
  Broadcast Spectrum have?
• One to many coverage
• Portable/mobile coverage
• Local content
• Wide-area coverage

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• Digital television provides an opportunity
• More or higher quality services in the same
  bandwidth or less bandwidth required
• Better frequency management through use of SFNs
  and adjacent channel use
• Allows analog services to switch off as the
  Australian framework has been implemented as a
  replacement technology

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• The Cliff-effect

Digital
Quality
PROBLEM
Analog
Distance
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• So whos interested in the current Broadcast
  Spectrum?
• Broadcasters they want to keep it
• Some Telcos see value in it for 4G
• Government sees value in broadening its use
• For example the use of Channels A and B

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• Digital Dividend
• Existing assignments versus
• re-stacking the spectrum

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• To maximise the value of the spectrum post analog
  closure, some re-stacking of the spectrum will be
  required
• This will have cost impacts on broadcasters and
  the general public
• Who pays for it? Presumably those who get the
  benefit, ie Government or the new spectrum owners?

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Conclusion

• Demand for spectrum is increasing
• The use of digital technology provides the
  opportunity for greater spectrum efficiency

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Conclusion

• There will be a Digital Dividend after the
  closure of analog television but beware of the
  cliff effect
• The value of the dividend needs to take into
  account the costs to incumbent operators and
  consumers