Examining the current assignment and usage of mobile spectrum

Ever since the introduction of mobile telephony in the 1980s, and particularly with the lower cost and increased availability provided by 2G in the early 1990s, usage of these services has increased at a very rapid rate, both in terms of the number of users and the demand for connectivity per user. New services, such as picture messaging, Internet access, and app store access, have all led to demand from consumers for higher quality connections and greater capacity. To meet this increased demand, new technologies have been developed to increase service capabilities, improve spectrum efficiency, and reduce costs. At the same time, the mobile sector has had large and increasing spectrum allocations identified at World Radio Conferences (WRCs). In this paper we have investigated the extent to which these allocations are being used.