Communication technologies are growing ever more powerful but they are decreasing in cost at the same time. Nowhere is this more true than in the area of wireless communication technologies. The remarkable advances of mobile and wireless broadband technology in the last 10 years has eclipsed all expectations. Unfortunately, policy regulating the use of wireless spectrum has not kept pace with the evolution of wireless technology. In fact, in most countries, spectrum policy and regulation has not changed much since it was conceived in the late 1920s.

Spectrum, as conceived of then, was a finite yet abundant resource and the policy and regulation created then reflected that understanding. In the same way Internet IP address assignment has evolved to be more efficient, we need a new way of thinking about spectrum assignment models. Things have changed. Thanks to the growth of mobile and broadband networks, demand for spectrum has shot up giving spectrum the appearance of being a scarce resource. Yet at the same time, wireless technology has evolved to the point where spectrum, while not an infinite resource, is a much more flexible, extensible, shareable resource than previously conceived. Data modulation and antenna design advances now allow us to pack much more data in the same spectrum.

Open Spectrum represents a particular opportunity for South Africa. After years of restrictive telecom regulation, the landmark Altech decision in late 2008 opened up the telecom market to competition from potenially hundreds of service providers. Yet, in order to deploy telecom infrastructure, one must either have the resources to deploy physical (copper or fibre) connectivity or access to radio spectrum to deploy wireless infrastructure. Access to spectrum in South Africa now represents the single biggest obstacle to competitive participation in the telecoms marketplace. And if 10% of the available spectrum is in use in North America and Europe, one can reasonably suppose that even less spectrum is currently in use in South Africa. This represents an opportunity for South Africa to radically change the connectivity landscape by allowing innovative wireless solutions to spur competition and to deliver affordable access where it was previously impractical.