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In an upcoming policy analysis for the Cato Institute titled Toward Property Rights and Spectrum,

the difficult policy choices ahead, University of Colorado Professors Dale Hatfield and Phil

Weiser highlight the difficulties of creating a property oriented system for electromagnetic spectrum.

Cato Director of Information Policy Studies Jim Harper discusses these issues in today's podcast.

What kind of policies are necessary to allow wireless broadband to emerge as a serious provider of Internet services?

Currently, radio spectrum, the electromagnetic spectrum, is allocated by the Federal Communications Commission in a highly regulatory, highly convoluted and expensive process.

Because of that, the radio spectrum hasn't been moved to its highest and best uses.

Spectrum that could be used for broadband internet services is being held by television broadcasters,

for example.

And there are just a myriad of

different uses for spectrum that are not being made today. So changes in how

spectrum is used will bring new products new services over wireless so that we can catch up with some other countries that

are doing a lot better with wireless services right now.

What are some of the difficulties that complicate the regulatory process?

Well, mostly it's the command and control system that the Federal Communications uses to

allocate Spectrum. Spectrum is a natural resource, just like land is, just like coal or oil, air or water.

But unlike these other natural resources,

this one can't be put on the market and sold from one party to another.

So potential users of Spectrum, innovators who would make

...