International Encyclopedia of Communication Online

Extract

The radio spectrum is viewed as a natural and scarce resource available to all nations. Even though the rules establishing the allocation of bandwidth and assignment of frequencies vary, common principles apply to all countries. The legal rationale for controls over licensing is generally based on four principles: (1) recognition of spectrum as a valuable resource; (2) conservation of bandwidth due to spectrum scarcity; (3) prevention of technical interference between channels; and (4) radio broadcasting's potential to influence society. These general principles serve as the starting point for regulating ownership, technology, and programming content (→ Radio ; Radio: Social History ). Before radio's ship-to-shore communication evolved into broadcasting early in the twentieth century, nations recognized the imperative of using wireless telegraphy at sea to save lives and cargo. The International Radiotelegraph Convention of 1906 established policies that held radio frequencies should be registered, signal interference prevented, and proprietary restraints against sending and receiving signals lifted. Nations began drawing up rules beyond maritime services in the 1920s, and eventually formed an international body to oversee radio regulations. The agreement of 1927 allocated the middle frequency band (MF = 10 kHz to 30 MHz) for broadcasting, maritime communications, land mobile ... log in or subscribe to read full text