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Towers of Babel: The Chaos in Radio Spectrum Utilization and Allocation

1969; Duke University School of Law; Volume: 34; Issue: 3 Linguagem: Inglês

10.2307/1190897

1945-2322

Nicholas Johnson,

Legal Systems and Judicial Processes

The Federal Radio Commission (now the Federal Communications Commission) was created by Congress, in 1927,1 to impose order upon the chaos of the radio spectrum caused by the electrical interference and the babble of overlapping voices.Forty-three years later, the interference and babble have eased, but the chaos remains.The Communications Act of 1934' charged the FCC with the efficient allocation among competing claimants of an important and scarce public resource-the electromagnetic, or radio, spectrumY The act was further designed to encourage the conservation of valuable frequencies, or spectrum space, while promoting the efficient development and utilization of the spectrum.This legislation was a response to the chaos that existed in the mid-192os, when each spectrum user disregarded the interference he caused to others by his own use of the spectrum.Over four decades have now passed, and it is time for a complete reappraisal of the FCC's policies, and its performance, in the area of spectrum management (conservation, development, utilization, and allocation).Has the current chaos of the radio spectrum been caused by the failure of the FCC to meet the growth of spectrum use with rational and consistent policies of spectrum management?If so, is there still a need for regulation of the spectrum by a central organization?Or is there a need for a reassessment of the FCC's structure and proper role as the manager of the spectrum?This article is addressed to these questions.