Keynote Speaker

Abstract

The rapid growth in the density of wireless access devices, accompanied by increasing heterogeneity in wireless technologies, requires adaptive allocation and reallocation of spectrum. The traditional allocation of spectrum does not allow for its flexible utilisation. These shortcomings call for new ways to access spectrum, for example through opportunistic spectrum usage and spectrum trading. As technologies emerge on ever-faster time-scales spectrum trading on shorter and shorter time-scales will eventually create the basis for a real-time and liquid market in spectrum. This process will be accompanied by rapidly developing means to dynamically price the use of spectrum and provide the basis for transparency in pricing. In these liquid markets users can acquire the spectrum that best suits their needs and they will pay for it an economic price determined collectively by the market. We will discuss scenarios where spectrum trading will happen through brokers who continuously monitor the utilisation of different frequency bands and negotiate between those who need to buy or sell spectrum. The brokers may also have the role of a market maker and as such may be required to continuously quote the price of spectrum bands on the basis of their supply and demand situation. We will discuss scenarios where spectrum could become an asset class not only traded for hedging purposes but perhaps for speculation as well. Major investment funds may want to include spectrum in their investment portfolios for enhanced diversification and risk management.