Wireless Broadband – Private band management
The possibility of industry, community or other government organisations managing some radiofrequency spectrum bands is canvassed in a discussion paper released by the ACMA in 2005.
The discussion paper aimed to gauge the level of interest in private band management and to identify which bands might attract the attention of potential band managers.
Under such management, the ACMA would lease or sell blocks of spectrum to a band manager, which would sub-lease spectrum access rights to users or tenants.
The proposal is that tenants would operate under the band manager’s licence though a contractual agreement negotiated between each tenant and the band manager. This can be compared with a shopping centre owner sub-leasing the various units in the centre to different business and retail tenants.
Band managers would have to comply with rules set down by the ACMA to ensure protection of the rights of other spectrum users.
The principle is that because of their market position, private managers may be better placed to offer more flexible spectrum access conditions in some bands.
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