The Economic Value of Property Rights Concepts in Spectrum

Abstract

Many but not all forms of licensed spectrum are scarce and have well-defined markets. But many applications of spectrum have no licenses. This paper concludes that applications of spectrum not subject to licenses actually have various property right concepts, particularly rights to use and rights to benefit from use, that enhance their value. The paper reviews various concepts of property rights present in varying degrees in all forms of spectrum: (1) the rights to determine the use of spectrum, (2) the rights to benefit from the use of spectrum, and (3) the right to benefit from transactions of spectrum.

Keywords: spectrum, property rights, licensed spectrum, unlicensed spectrum

JEL Classification: L51, L86, L96, K11