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Understanding Modern Spectrum Management
The key engineering, legal and policy issues
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An overview of spectrum database features
About the tabs; manipulating the data and using the filter function.
The worksheets
The information in the database is divided into categories and presented in a series of tabs in Excel or Google sheets:
These include the following data:
| Sheet | Contents |
|---|---|
| ALLOCATIONS: | Frequency allocations for mobile and wireless broadband |
| ASSIGNMENTS | Names of licencees, licence footprint, date of issue and expiry, licence conditions, fees payable, band, frequencies |
| COUNTRIES: | Mobile spectrum allocations by country |
| OPERATORS: | Mobile spectrum holdings by operator |
| MHz PER POP: | USD per MHz per pop paid for spectrum |
| EXPIRY: | Expiry dates of each operator’s GSM and IMT licences |
| EXCHANGE RATES: | Conversion rates used when calculating the historic MHz per pop figures |
| POP_DATA: | Population density data sourced from CIESIN at Columbia University |
Manipulating the data
- You sort the data using the autofilter system: the arrows sit just below the column names.
- Click on the arrows and choose which section of the data you want to display.
Example: finding 800 MHz frequencies in the Americas
Select “Americas” from the drop-down menu in the “regions” column:
Then select “800 MHz” from the drop-down menu in the “Band” column:
This will bring up entries for all 800 MHz spectrum licenses in the Americas (excluding USA and Canada)
You can use as many autofilter selections as necessary, allowing you to drill down to find the data you need.
MHz per pop sheets
Please note that the MHz per pop sheets show a historic figure using the dollar exchange rates at the time and a current figure, using this year’s exchange rates.
Which figure you choose will depend on your chosen methodology – see this page for a more detailed discussion of this issue.
Hidden columns
Also, be aware that some of the columns in both MHz/pop sheets are hidden to show the data in the simplest possible form. You can unhide these to reveal the figures on which the MHz/pop calculations are made.
Exchange rate data
The historic and current exchange rate data on which the MHz/pop calculations are made is available in a separate sheet called EXCHANGE RATES.
Tips
- Data in red has been entered since the database’s last quarterly update
- A red triangle in the top right hand corner of the cell means a comment has been added providing further explanation
- Why can I only see a limited set of data (e.g. just for Switzerland) ?◦ There is an autofilter set for Switzerland in column B (see screengrabs above)◦ Click on the autofilter arrows and select “Show all” to see the whole sheet