Supercommons: Spectrum policy whitepaper from Kevin Werbach
Kevin Werbach has written a whitepaper on Sepctrum Policy, arguing that Spectrum should not be allocated as if it were policy, but rather as if it were a boundless commons. These are things the free wireless networking community has discussed for a while now, but when someone like Werbach speaks, we all listen.
I haven't had time to read this paper yet, but i'll be bringing it with me to Greece next week, for some quiet beach reading.
If you're into these subjects, i suggest you do the same (and yes, that includes going to greece for a week ;-)
It argues that we should no longer treat wireless spectrum as a concrete physical resource, because new technologies make possible a range of communications techniques that don't require exclusive control of frequencies. A universal entry privilege, allowing anyone to transmit anywhere, at any time, in any way, should be the policy baseline. A set of backstops and safe harbors drawn from tort and intellectual property law can resolve boundary disputes efficiently, without exclusive property rights. The "supercommons" represents a vast opportunity to enhance communications capacity and open up access to the airwaves.
