UK to Privatize Radio Spectrum?

judgecorp writes "The UK regulator, Ofcom, has decided that managing spectrum is a drag, and there are other people around that might do a better job. It is going to open up 73 percent of the radio spectrum to market forces, and make it technology-neutral and tradeable. So if one technology gets superseded, another one can get rolled out instead (subject to broadcast power limits) without Ofcom having to define what spectrum it should use. Radio was first regulated here 100 years ago this year, and a new regime is needed to fit new radio technology. Ofcom is quite proud to be ahead of the US on this one, because we have a recent Communications Act, and the FCC is 'hamstrung' by old laws - at least that's what the head of research at Ofcom said."

Comments

More Taxes!

[Evil W1zard]

They should do like they did with Television tax and start taxing people for the amount of radios and other RF based devices they own! They could make a bundle! Also I believe they should up the tax on petrol you British folks pay as well because 75% of the price being tax is just not expensive enough lol...

Re:About time

[mc6809e]

I'm not sure privatization of LAND was a good idea (I have a great many ancestors on one side of the family that would consider the privatization of land to be the single stupidest idea that the White Man brought to America).

These wouldn't be the same ancestors that lacked the wheel and a written language, would they?

It has lead to hoarding and a large number of homeless people.

False on it's face.

It's just like a Marxist to deny reality.

Seriously, anyone that continues to be a Marxist might as well be an astrologer or alchemist. It's just another dead theory.

Private = Better, More Expensive

[ilyanep]

They [private companies] are more efficient, they just charge more (but it's not out of taxes, so people complain less).

My general rule of thumb is that for civilian matters private companies do better but charge more, but get less complaints because it's not out of taxes (just take a look at the USPS vs. the private UPS, where do you think there are more lost packages?) and my rationale for that is because they're charging you more for a better service.

On the other hand, for military matters, the government knows best (specifically the pentagon, not the bureaucrats in congress).