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NigelHolmes
ExplanationGraphicsDESIGNER &ILLUSTRATOR
J.H. Snider
Senior Research Fellow,New AmericaFoundation
AUTHOR &PROJECTCOORDINATOR
TheGuide to FederalSpectrum Policy
What if thegovernment regulatedspoken words the wayit regulates theairwaves?
The Spectrum Policy Programis supported by grants from the Ford Foundation,The Open Society Institute, and the Joyce Foundation.Additional copies can be ordered or downloaded atwww.spectrumpolicy.org.
 © 2004
New America FoundationPresident and CEO, Ted HalsteadSpectrum Policy ProgramVice President and Director, Michael Calabrese
 
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Thanks to the computerrevolution, radios areevolving from beingdumb to smart devices,
which allows wireless net-working and communicationbased on dynamic sharing offrequency bands. This radiorevolution calls for radicallydifferent governmentregulation of public access tothe radio spectrum,*popularly known as the“public airwaves.” Increasingly,access to spectrum shouldbe regulated based on freespeech (“unlicensed”) ratherthan exclusive speech(“licensed”) regulatoryprinciples.Not surprisingly, recipients ofexclusive government licensesto use the spectrum (called“licensees”) are furiouslyopposed to any proposal thatrequires them to share theirspectrum with users lackinga license. Never mind thattheir licenses are for shortterms and convey noownership rights, or thatlicense-free sharing need notconflict with their currentlyoffered services. The licenseesknow that exclusive rights touse the public airwaves areworth a king's ransom, andthe prospect of your payingthem a toll every time youcommunicate on thoseairwaves has them salivatinglike Golum in
Lord of the Rings.
To prevent additionalunlicensed sharing ofspectrum, licenseescommission arcaneengineering and economicanalyses to prove thatlicensing is the only possibleway to allocate spectrumwithout creating chaos. Howcan the public evaluate theseself-serving claims?Fortunately, the public doesunderstand the acousticspectrum—the medium thathuman mouths and ears usefor communication.
ThisCartoon Guide seeks touse the public's intuitivegrasp of the acousticspectrum to bring thepublic into the policydebate over unlicensedaccess to the radiospectrum.
*The word “radio” refers to devicessuch as cell phones, and WiFinetworks that transmit informationover radio waves.
 
Smart radioFMAntennaSpeakerEarMouthBrainAcoustic wavesMicrobeSmart brain
Radios have historically been far less intelligent than humansystems for communication.
Because radio devices haven’t been smartenough to distinguish among overlapping signals, government regulates theradio spectrum to minimize interference in ways that would be inconceivablefor acoustic communications.A smart brain allows the human ear to distinguish between different speakers.Similarly, a smart computer processor allows a radio receiver to distinguishbetween the signals from different transmitters. Human acoustic systems havea brain to analyze sound waves, whereas radios have until recently had noadvanced computer processors to analyze radio waves. But as the computerrevolution comes to radio, this is rapidly changing.
Radios are developingthe discriminatory powers of the human communication system.
As this happens, many of the government’s onerous restrictions on radiospeech become unnecessary.
Yet the government continues to regulatethe spectrum as if we live in a world of dumb radios.
Tuner
acousticsystemradiosystem
Radio waves
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When we listen to someone talking to us, the sound waves are analogous tothe radio waves used in wireless communication. Both use waves to sendmessages between transmitters and receivers. The acoustic spectrum involveslower frequencies than the radio frequency spectrum, but this has no effect onthe physics involved. Our ears are tuned to pick up acoustic waves, just as radioreceivers are tuned to receive radio waves.The major difference between acoustic and radio communication is that humansand other animals have evolved exquisitely sophisticated tools for processingsounds. Our brains can pick out sound waves from the surrounding backgroundnoise and quickly interpret them with phenomenal accuracy.
The acoustic speech analogyThe evolution of acoustic and radio systems
acousticsystemradiosystem
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