Ofcom says that, to support innovation, it wants to make it easier for organisations to access the spectrum they need for new and exciting uses. For example, this could include remote healthcare applications to support people taking medication and, in the future, 3D holograms. Accordingly, Ofcom has published its Spectrum Management Strategy, setting out its long-term vision for how its proposes to manage spectrum in the future. To deliver this vision, Ofcom is proposing action in three main areas:

• supporting wireless innovation: Ofcom plans to bolster its outreach work to help organisations looking at how they could improve the way they work by using spectrum for wireless services; Ofcom also proposes to free up more spectrum for people to develop new technologies and uses, e.g. providing instant wireless connections between machinery; this follows Ofcom’s decision to release 18.2 GHz of extremely high frequency spectrum to help spur innovation;
• licensing tailored to local and national needs: Ofcom wants to help a wider range of organisations access spectrum to get wireless services off the ground by considering new options for localised spectrum access; local access licences allow organisations and services that do not need spectrum across the whole UK, including factories, airports and remote farms to be able to get the airwaves they need to use wireless technology; and
• promoting spectrum sharing: last summer Ofcom launched its spectrum sharing framework, which meant organisations could access spectrum that either was not being used or could be shared between multiple users; Ofcom wants to further encourage sharing in higher frequency bands and also introduce new sharing tools; it also wants to ensure systems protect themselves against the risk of undue interference by taking action to accommodate more users and encourage them to improve the systems they sell.

Ofcom invites comments on its proposals by 5pm on 26 February 2021. To access the Spectrum Management Strategy, click here.