Shifting demands for radio spectrum

Summary form only given. The past decade has signaled fundamental new trends in the use of radio spectrum. The trends relate to telecommunications market drivers, as well as technological developments. The market drivers include increasing demands for data transmission, higher capacity facilities, flexibility, and greater personal control of communications. Technological responses to these demands include increasing use of digital facilities, proliferation of private networks, greater reliance on optical fiber and coaxial cable, and increasing attention to mobile radio applications. The near-term response to shifting market demands will likely involve two approaches: (1) the use of higher, less congested frequency bands, and (2) the application of techniques that will utilize existing allocations more intensively. The first approach is limited by the suitability of higher frequencies for some applications. The latter approach, which includes the development and use of more spectrally efficient technology and perhaps more sophisticated frequency coordination techniques, also has natural limits. Because of these limitations, the longer term response to shifting market demands will likely be some spectrum reallocation in the lower frequency bands