Some Considerations for Band-Sharing in the Electromagnetic Spectrum

As the num ber and kinds of services using or seeking space in the electrom agnetic spectrum seems to be increasing drasti­ cally some basic changes in our management of spectrum as­ signments are needed. In this paper an attem pt is made to sort ou t some of the techniques by which m ore than one service can share com m on frequency assignm ents. The 5th N O I for WARC-79 indicates a determ ination oil the part of the FCC to move in the direction of greater spectrum sharing. Common frequency assignments can be made if due regard fo r time, mode, polarization, type of service, pow er levels, queuing and a num ber of other factors are considered. The question of “ prior­ ity ’ ’ users versus ‘ ‘ secondary’ ’ services is discussed along with some subsidiary items such as interference levels. A major area of spectrum use im provem ent appears to be A dm inistrative. In this category are those adm inistrative changes which would suppress wasteful spectrum practices.