Policy Suggestions for the Way Forward for CR

Abstract

The key message that emerges from this book is of an extremely complex and intricate picture of regulatory considerations inevitably surrounding the introduction and development of CR and DSA technologies. Yet, it is also a hopeful picture, given that one may already clearly see the emergence of some key paths along which that development could take place. This chapter therefore wraps up the discussion of CR policy and regulation in preceding chapters by taking a forward-looking stance and proposing some realistic and concrete examples towards building the elements of a regulatory policy framework that would be conducive to the broader deployment of CR technologies in general and DSA applications in particular. The chapter opens with Sect. 7.1 that presents a novel approach to licensing of primary services, which might become a fair, flexible, and viable means to introduce hierarchical spectrum sharing. This vision is backed by a techno-economic case study that proves a financial advantage of such a concept and thus builds a compelling case for the regulators to consider this novel tool as part of their licensing toolbox. Section 7.2 contains joint contribution from a group of authors who discuss the idea of ISM-Advanced band—the concept of using CR to make better use of unlicensed commons, such as 2.4 GHz Wi-Fi band. They outline a number of possible changes to the existing set of rules that govern access to ISM bands, which would allow making those bands the hot-bed of CR innovation and, most importantly, bringing real benefits by means of increasing the efficiency of using those vital bands. Section 7.3 builds on the thread of an actor-centric approach that was started in previous chapters in order to explore the notion of an CR “sweet spot”, i.e. finding a suitable combination of regulatory arrangements, an incubator, which would establish favourable conditions for exploration of CR technologies. Section 7.4 presents analysis of the lessons learned over the decade of efforts to introduce CR devices in TV White Spaces. It is shown how one of the most profound developments of that age—the Geolocation Database concept—may be used as a foundation for further advances in TVWS and beyond. And finally, the ultimate Sect. 7.5 offers some prescient concluding remarks as regards the role of spectrum as key resource facilitating growth of wireless services and CR technologies that could unleash the next big wave of wireless innovation.