Infrastructure and Spectrum: 5G and next generation networks

Some nations are witnessing the return of government to the role of infrastructure provider in order to deliver accessible broadband services. In others there is a growing acknowledgement that traditional spectrum policy of direct and specific allocation may not be the right way to deal with inevitable increased demand. Various solutions range from sharing spectrum bands to developing secondary markets and providing incentives to non-market users for better usage of this scarce resource. In practice, there are difficulties in promoting sharing and encouraging different spectrum users to co-exist in the same or adjacent bands. With the role of 5G still evolving, regulators and policy makers face the challenge of balancing innovation and investment with regulation, as well as new decisions about authorisation and licensing.