[arin-ppml] IPv6 Heretic thoughts

[Milton L Mueller]

> -----Original Message-----
> From: Owen DeLong [mailto:owen at delong.com]

> The reality is that the FCC has chosen a non-auction mechanism for the
> vast majority of spectrum and uses auctions to dispense what is left
> after they have allocated spectrum to non-commercial uses that are
> considered important by the FCC.

To put it more accurately, when there are many contending commercial
applications for _exclusive use_ of the same spectrum, i.e. scarcity of
the sort faced in IPv4, they tend to use auctions. 

I personally have been a big advocate of unlicensed spectrum and making
more of that available, too. Some have tried to argue that all spectrum
should be exclusive/auctioned, others that it all should be unlicensed.
In fact, both models should exist, each has its strengths and
weaknesses. And there is still some role for administrative allocations.


The industry and most policy analysts have accepted this combination as
the best way to go, because each allocation model has its strengths and
weaknesses in different types of uses.

One could compare IPv6 space to unlicensed, freely available and IPv4 to
exclusive/licensed/scarce. 

> What if the Military had to add their spectrum
> demands into their budget?

It would very good, except that under most recent administrations DoD is
given a blank check. We should know how much military spectrum usage
actually costs the country. Surely you are not suggesting that by not
having a transparent cost for military resources it is somehow "free?"