Slashdot Mirror
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 So if one technology gets superseded, another one can get rolled out instead (subject to broadcast power limits) without Ofcom having to define what spectrum it should use.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."
All you have to do is look at the railways, power, mines, buses...
This is a good idea, as long as there will be a natural resource tax to reduce hoarding and speculation.
Just remember everyone, just because you *can* make money off it means you *should*, right?
What doesn't kill you only delays the inevitable
I hope they make provision for the amateur bands and we (radio enthusiasts) don't have to club together to buy them. I wonder if licenses will be required still?
They're just going to privatise the air traffic control spectrum, police, emergency services, trains and military because 'private companies' are much more efficient at handling it dont you know? what could possibly go wrong?
This comment does not represent the views or opinions of the user.
How would a publicly run British Telecom be any better? They would have no incentive to update technology since there would be no competition. You would be stuck with a very reliable big black rotory dial phone.
It's about time someone did this. There's no reason for the airwaves to be publicly owned. "Public ownership" of a resource means that all decisions about a resouce have to occur in the context of politics. All decisions are political decisions.
If the group that wants censorship has more votes than the group that doesn't want censorship, then there'll be censorship.
When a private entity owns something, decisions are made based on the ideals of the private entity. If you don't like the decisions made about the resource, you can buy your own.
It works for land. It'll work for the airwaves. Nice job UK.
I'm sure Clear Channel would make a great replacement for the FCC.
But seriously - how do you create a fair competitive market environment for all while treading the line between fascist govt control and private industry monopolization. As much as our politico's thump the podium about 'free markets' they simply allow single entities to get away with abuse of an advantage to corner entire winner-take-all markets that's anything but free.
try { do() || do_not(); } catch (JediException err) { yoda(err); }
I think we have to applaud them on this move. The current regulations and allotments of the FCC are severely holding back wireless technology in the US. If only a few antiquated technologies were put out to pasture we could have high-speed wireless connections that weren't line-of-site and whose ranges weren't severely hampered. Not to mention a slew of other ideas that can't make it off the ground because existing (mis)uses of spectrum don't allow enough bandwidth for innovation.
By the way, the existing telephone and media companies love the fact that this situation is hampering new innovations. Only time will tell if the UK's decision is a step in the right direction, but at least it's a step.
Exactly - just look at the BBC still broadcasting in mono to steam powered bakelite radios. Privatising them would force them to embrace new technology like TV, digital radio and the web.
--- Yx3 = Delilah ---
The UK government has the ability to seize back the privatised items if they are convinced that the privatisation was not successful longterm.
Newsflash: most governments, but especially the US' and the UK's these days, are corrupt and owned by the very corporations they should be controlling and regulating. Didn't you ever ask yourself why the railways are still privatised after all these years when any moron can see it's a certified disaster? Well, that's why...
"A door is what a dog is perpetually on the wrong side of" - Ogden Nash
If BT was publicly run we'd still be using the same old telephone lines, paying the same rates for phone calls, and using some horrible hack for our internet access like ADSL. Whereas now it's private it's got competition from all those other major telephone companies. No wait, my mistake, there aren't any other major telephone companies. Still we've got OFTEL to stop them abusing their position to stifle competition. No wait, my bad, they don't.
Why is the BBC interested in keeping up with the times? Ah competition, that would be it. There are other stations which everyone would watch if BBC wasn't interesting enough (in a relative sense. I know, it's British TV we're talking about here.) Anyway, a publicly owned BT would be a monopoly, since it's hard enough to have a competing phone company even without a government owned monopoly. I highly doubt they would realistically allow for a competitor, so they would have every excuse to stagnate and become someone's political empire where they could hire their friends into cushy guaranteed government jobs.
If the BBC's ratings fall away, it becomes harder and harder to justify the license fee we pay them. Every few years, the government renews the charter that, amongst other things, gives the BBC authority to collect fees. If the BBC was unpopular, the government wouldn't find it hard to alter the charter at the next renewal. One major incentive is their continued existance!
Of course, they can't go too far. One of the other parts of the charter is their commitment to public service broadcasting. There's no point in us paying the fee if all we get for it is Simpsons repeats. A totally populist schedule might gain big ratings but would draw massive criticism. The BBC is often accused of dumbing down too much.
The key, as ever, is a balance between ratings-winners and 'worthwhile' programming.
I say we take-off and slashdot the site from orbit... it's the only way to be sure
Since I'm talking about colors, I'm referring to color temperature, which humans typically associate as cool->warm as blue->red. You're talking about energy, in which 400nm (violet) is more energetic than 700nm (red). You'll have to get the other poster to defend and explain their claim to green, destroying the humor of their own joke.
--
make install -not war
I'd disagree, if its a vital system (eg the London Underground) then i'd rather know that every penny of my overpriced ticket and taxes went into either the wages of someone who actually did a useful job there or just back into the system. Why would I want anyone making a profit off of that when the government could do it without paying for someones yacht? Why would a private company be able to do any better? if the government is doing a crap job its because they have crap people managing the system: fire them and get someone who has a clue. Plus who is more likely to cut corners so they can get more money? a) someone who owns the private company and only has to answer to a few government quotas or b) someone who has been apointed by the government and gets a fixed salary to get the bloody system working and doesnt get to keep the profit. I really don't understand what a private company can do to any system that the government, with properly apointed people can't?
This comment does not represent the views or opinions of the user.
Believe it! What we can count on is that if the bandwidth isn't being used, it is in jeapardy of being taken, or in this case, sold to the highest bidder. Nothing like whoring out your hobby just because you can't replenish your numbers quickly enough. This is:
1)a wakeup call to amateurs to get active using the bandwidth they have and recruiting new HAMS to the hobby to do the same, and
2)a wakeup call to radio manufacturers to get their pricing competitive, get their technology out of the vaccuum tube days (I know it's digital, but there is more technology in a PDA than in any radio - how difficult would it be to add flash memory and a basic OS to an HT...honestly) and pursue technology that interacts with today's world.
Otherwise, we will end up reading about ourselves in history books and crying on each others' shoulders in Denny's because we can no longer freely talk about complete nonsense between storm nets. - W9BSH