- Spectrum management
- English
- Martin Mwaura
- Jonathan Mwakijele
- Anita Natwati
Advanced
- Bank transfer
- Credit card
- M-pesa
Description
This course will focus on the economics of spectrum management. The aim of this course is to introduce students to the main economic principles and market-based mechanisms of spectrum management. It presents and analyses available market tools for economic efficiency in the use of spectrum, such as auctions and spectrum pricing. It takes into account students’ need to understand the overall context - especially how and where market- and price- based tools fit into a country’s chosen regime of modern spectrum management.
This course is targeted at the professionals working in the telecommunications industry, Economics, Finance, Telecommunications Engineers, lawyers and regulatory staff across all departments.
Besides that, other institutions, academia and individuals that are dedicated to building their capacity related to Modern Spectrum Management.
Participants are expected to have completed the introductory course in Spectrum Management or have a basic understanding of Spectrum Management. Participants are also expected to be working for a regulator, or in the ICT/Telecoms sector as a provider or consultant.
Upon completion of this course, participants will be able to:
- Describe the main Economic Principles of Spectrum Management;
- Apply the Market-based mechanism of Spectrum Management;
- Analyze the available market tools for economic efficiency in the use of spectrum, such as auctions and spectrum pricing;
- Assess the Modern Spectrum Management.
This course will be delivered using Instructor-led online learning. The course is delivered using PowerPoint slides posted on the course page and selected reference materials that the participants have to study each week, participate in scheduled activities and undertake self-assessments. Students will reinforce their understanding of the topics studied by drawing on their specific environments and are encouraged to consult with experienced colleagues who are working on a relevant topic. The following methods will be used for this course
- Self-study of Presentations and reference materials
- Live lectures and discussions will be conducted through ZOOM every week on Monday and Wednesday from 1500 hours to 1700 Hours EAT (GMT+3)
- Interactive chat sessions and forum discussions
- Quizzes and
- End of course Assignment
Students’ performance in this course will be determined using a combination of grades for the forum, self-assessment quizzes, and the end-of-course assignment. Where:
- Forum posts for the 4 weeks will be awarded 12 points
- Self- Assessed / automated quizzes will be awarded 60 points
- End of course assignment will be awarded 28 points
The forum will account for 12% of the total score, Quizzes 60%, and the end-of-course assignment 28%.
A total score higher than 70% is required to obtain the ITU certificate
WEEK 1 Economic Principles of Spectrum Management
- Economics of spectrum as a resource:
- Radio spectrum as an economic good
- Spectrum as a valuable input
- Spectrum value, spectrum scarcity, and interference
- Efficient economical allocation of spectrum
- Radiocommunication services and spectrum management: economic overview
Learning outcomes
Describe the economic principles of modern spectrum management.
Training activities details
- Attend live lectures on Monday and Wednesday.
- Read Unit 1, 2 & 3 Materials and references.
- Forum topic 1: Discuss the Economics of Radio Frequency Spectrum as a Resource.
- Quiz 1 covering week 1 contents
WEEK 2 Economic Principles of Spectrum Management (Cont.)
Spectrum liberalization:
- What it is and why it is important
- Towards modern spectrum management
- Ronald Coase’s influence
- Spectrum management regimes
- Recent policy developments
- Benefits and costs of liberalization
- A brief look at a few national/international experiences
Learning outcomes
Describe the economic principles of modern spectrum management.
Training activities details
- Attend live lectures on Monday and Wednesday.
- Read Unit 4, 5 & 6 Materials and references.
- Forum topic 2: Discuss the Current Spectrum Management as an Economic Problem in the Liberalized and Competitive Telecommunications Market.
- Quiz 2 covering week 2 contents.
WEEK 3 Market-based Mechanism of Spectrum Management
Methods of incorporating economic forces and market mechanisms into SM:
- The context of change
- The new tools available
- Market instruments available
- Economic pricing options
Ways of ensuring access to spectrum:
- Different ways of ensuring spectrum access
- Economic aspects of sharing spectrum
- Licence- vs rules-based sharing
- Interference management for market-based spectrum management
Spectrum assignment and the design of spectrum auctions:
- Different methods of assigning spectrum
- The organization and logistics of auctions
- Types of auctions
- Additional features of auction design
Setting up rules for secondary markets in spectrum trading:
- Spectrum trading: what it is and why it is important
- Enabling spectrum trading
- Objections to spectrum trading
- Spectrum trading in practice
Re-purposing and re-farming spectrum bands:
- Spectrum re-farming (also referred to as spectrum redeployment) is a combination of administrative, financial and technical measures aimed at removing users or equipment of the existing frequency assignments either completely or partially from a particular frequency band
- The same frequency band may then be allocated to the same or different service(s)
- These measures may be implemented in short, medium, or long time-scales
Learning outcomes
Apply, analyze and assess the market-based tools that can be used for efficient spectrum management.
Training activities details
- Attend live lectures on Monday and Wednesday.
- Read Unit 7, 8 & 9 Materials and references.
- Forum topic 3: Give reasons for the need for Modern Spectrum Management in the liberalized and competitive Telecommunications Markets.
- Quiz 3 covering week 3 contents.
WEEK 4 Market-based Mechanism of Spectrum Management (Cont.)
Spectrum commons and collective use of spectrum:
- Economic case for unlicensed bands
- Varieties of collective use of commons
- Economics of the commons
- Access to unlicensed bands: examples
- Economics of the choice between licensed and unlicensed bands
- Estimating the economic value of unlicensed bands
Band managers, co-regulation and self-regulation:
- Band managers, band management, and band access regulations
- Types of band management
- Case studies
Spectrum pricing and valuation:
- Different types of pricing and valuation
- Traditional spectrum charges
- Opportunity cost pricing of spectrum
- Other ways of pricing spectrum
Public sector spectrum:
- The importance of the public sector spectrum
- Stages in public sector reform
- An example of public sector reform
Learning outcomes
Apply, analyze and assess the market-based tools that can be used for efficient spectrum management.
Training activities details
- Attend live lectures on Monday and Wednesday.
- Read Unit 10 & 11 Materials and references.
- Forum topic 4: Discuss major differences between the Current and Modern Spectrum Management
- Quiz 4 covering week 4 contents.
- End of Course Assignment: Discuss the available Market-based tools of Spectrum Management and how your country applied them. (1,000 to 1,200 words).
Registration information
Unless specified otherwise, all ITU Academy training courses are open to all interested professionals, irrespective of their race, ethnicity, age, gender, religion, economic status and other diverse backgrounds. We strongly encourage registrations from female participants, and participants from developing countries. This includes least developed countries, small island developing states and landlocked developing countries.