A wireless future? Overview and Glossary

Notwithstanding the current global economic situation and questions now raised in relation to telecommunication investment there are strong indications of a growing future role for wireless applications, and need for more market-oriented spectrum management approaches to relace older command and control models. Driven by attractive new applications, their cost effectiveness, high demand for mobility, availability of faster broadband and new expectations of geographical ubiquity, recent technologies and associated spectrum reforms are combining to bring such possibilities closer. A rapidly growing array of worthwhile, user-friendly wireless based services and hand-held devices are progressively appearing in the market. Not to be ignored also is the status some of these products bestow on purchasers. Emerging market-oriented reforms in the allocation and management of spectrum at international and national levels are allowing these benefits to occur more quickly and efficiently. Progressive availability of some re-allocated spectrum, for example after the Digital TV switchover period in Australia between 2010 and 2013, will further this trend and also open up new broadcasting services. From April 30 to May 2 this year such issues were pursued at Radcomms08 in Melbourne. The special series of radio and spectrum reform related papers that follow also address similar issues and to some extent were prompted by that event, but have a more international focus. Another impact of current global economics is the bad press that 'market forces' at its extremes have recently received. There are consequently already signs of some selective shift back towards stronger regulation. The ways in which this might or might not express itself in current spectrum reforms are yet to be played out.