Guatemala and bandwidth policy reform

Snip from a Globe and Mail column by Neil Reynolds about the relatively radical spectrum reforms in Guatemala, where bandwith is now assigned as personal property that comes with its own legal title.

Guatemala (population, 16.5 million) introduced its reforms in 1996, when it got rid of Guatel, a state-owned telephone company managed for years by the military. Guatel had traditionally allocated bandwidth by bribery. El Salvador (population, 7.5 million) introduced its reform in 1997. In both countries, the reforms expressed a novel principle -- that unused radio waves should be made available, either by public auction or by first-come, first-served -- to anyone who wanted to use them.

Guatemalan law now defines property rights in bandwidth in single-page documents called TUFs, titulo de usufructo de frecuencia, or title to frequency use. These deeds state that TUFs may be sold or leased, traded or swapped. They may be used as collateral or as equity.

People who hold them can change ownership simply by writing on them the names of the new owners. TUFs expire at the end of 15 years, but will be renewed for another 15 years on request. TUFs grant owners exclusive control on the use of the bandwidth they govern.

In 10 years, Guatemala has granted almost 4,000 TUFs, including 590 to amateurs. Although it is among the poorest of Latin American countries (with GDP of $1,500 U.S. per capita), it possesses the highest quantity of spectrum for wireless communication: 140.0 megahertz. Only Chile, with four times Guatemala's GDP per capita, matches it. El Salvador ranks third with 137.8 MHz.

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