Spectrum Management for a Converging World: Case Study on Australia International Telecommunication Union
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IntroductionRadiofrequency spectrum is a major asset for the telecommunication industry. Wireless systems have been expanding at a phenomenal rate over recent decades and their importance as a tool for development and information access is undeniable. Given Australia’s geography, climate and population distribution, wireless systems play an essential role in connecting its rural as well as metropolitan population, providing high quality and timely access to basic and value-added services that is part of the common life of a developed economy. Airwave television (TV) and radio broadcasting, land and satellite mobile communications, broadband wireless access, for example, form part of those service requirements of a modern society which make extensive use of radio spectrum. As a consequence, the need for an efficient and transparent spectrum management framework to regulate the Australian wireless industry has been considered by the Commonwealth Government as of essence to the meet the overall objectives of providing the same level of service to all Australians, irrespective of where they are in its continental territory, and to foster competition as a development tool. More than a decade ago, when the current spectrum management arrangements were established, Australia pioneered the use of innovative approaches which defied the radiocommunication regulations common practices. A profound reform in the regulatory environment resulted in the establishment of the Radiocommunications Act 1992 and the Australian Communications Authority Act 1997, which are the main instruments for spectrum management in Australia. The presence of an independent, strong and skilled spectrum regulatory body, the establishment of market-driven approaches — such as the attribution of property rights on spectrum to licensees allowed to trade their assets, the spectrum licensing scheme based on technological neutrality and trading, the allocation of spectrum using price-based methods, the delegation of licensing powers to assigned persons within the industry, a streamlined self-declaration compliance arrangement for radio equipment, electronic and electrical products‑and a highly effective consultation-based process for the implementation, revision and improvement of the regulatory framework — make Australia a unique benchmark of modern spectrum management administration. Following the first ten years of experience with the established spectrum management framework, a series of radiocommunication regulatory reviews was conducted by the Government in full consultation with the industry and the public. Some areas were identified for revision of the applicable laws and proposed amendments are in the process of being implemented or submitted to the Parliament. The objective of striking a fair balance between community interest and those of commercial users has guided decisions on the management of access to the radiofrequency spectrum in Australia. This progressive attitude of the Government towards spectrum management and the positive responses by the major spectrum users have contributed to establishing adequate conditions for the smooth development of the booming wireless industry in Australia, as well as accommodating the important needs of non-commercial users. This report describes the main elements of the Australian spectrum management regulatory environment, and portrays some examples of wireless system implementation in application of the existing arrangements. Most of the contents are based on publicly available documentation and the bibliographical references cited in the report. However, the presentation of details and understanding of the processes could not be reached without the benefit of the personal interviews conducted in Australia with representatives of the Government, regulatory bodies and industry (see Annex 5).
Australia facts and indicatorsGeographyAt 7,692,024 km2, Australia comprises just 5 per cent of the world's land area, yet it is the planet's sixth largest country after Russia, Canada, China, USA, and Brazil1. Australia is also the smallest continental land mass (or largest island). The Australian continent extends from east to west some 3,860 km and from north to south nearly 3,220 km. It lies between 10º and 39º south latitude (see Figure 2.1). It is on the whole exceedingly flat (the lowest point on the mainland, Lake Eyre, is –15 m and the highest, Mount Kosciuszko, is 2,228 m) and dry (less than 51 cm of precipitation falls annually over 70 per cent of the land area). Remote from any other continent, Australia has many distinctive forms of plant and of animal life. Figure 2.1: The Australian continent 
Whilst the areas of Canada and the United States are similar to Europe, their populations are markedly smaller, by factors of 18 (3 persons/km2) and 2 (29 persons/km2), respectively. Australia is not far behind in size, but its population compared to Europe is 30 times smaller. Japan's population density is 336 persons/km2 and the United Kingdom's is 244 persons/km2, compared to Australia's 2.5 persons/km2. (See Figure 2.2.) Figure 2.2: Australia compared with other territories
Source: Geoscience Australia. An interesting comparison between the countries in Table 2.1 is the ratio of the amount of arable land to population, which provides some insight into the possible environmental stresses being exerted on their landscapes, where Australia shows the most favourable marks. Table 2.1: Australia compared with other territories
Source: Geoscience Australia. Although Australia is not densely populated, it is highly urbanized, with an urban population exceeding 90 per cent of the total population, placing Australia alongside Canada and Iceland as among the most highly urbanized Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) member countries. No less than 83 per cent of all Australian households are within 5 km of a telephone exchange. For the provision of communications services, this population distribution is both a disadvantage (i.e. highly dispersed rural population spread across a large land mass) and an advantage (i.e. high proportion of population in just a handful of urban centres, with around half the total population in Sydney and Melbourne alone). For example, cellular operators can achieve population coverage of 92 per cent with landmass coverage of 3 per cent. These geographical factors, both physical and human, make Australia — in some terms at least — a uniquely mature telecommunication market [1]. One important focus of telecommunication policy and regulation in Australia has been the desire to ensure that the benefits of affordable communications flow through to rural and remote households. Owing to the geographical size and population distribution, with vast regions of territory where the population is sparsely distributed, broadband wireless access networks represent an attractive solution in a country like Australia. In Western Australia for example, despite the fact that such networks are not yet widely available, they could represent a timely solution to address the challenges raised in the recently published State Government report on the development of broadband infrastructure for Western Australia [2]. Directory: osg -> spu spu -> Riefing Paper spu -> 3g mobile Policy: The Case of Sweden spu -> The case of ghana spu -> Contents : Introduction Part a the themes spu -> 3g mobile Licensing Policy spu -> Telecom network migration to ip and its impact on the future of telecommunications spu -> Colombia: ip telephony and the Internet spu -> Itu workshop on creating trust in critical network infrastructures spu -> Nternational Download 1.53 Mb. Share with your friends:
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