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Avoiding the "race to the bottom"

  • Shannon's Law dictates that equipment which will allow a lower data rate can survive interference better than faster equipment

  • Part 15 bands have experienced a "race to the bottom" in which slower equipment (e.g. Motorola Canopy) is designed to blast faster equipment off the air

  • The result: slower equipment "wins" -- but the public loses because faster service becomes unavailable

  • To avoid this problem, spectrum policies must include minimum spectral efficiency requirements measured in bits per second per Hz of spectrum

  • Requirement for spectral efficiency motivates manufacturers to build equipment that strives to get "above the knee" of the curve and avoids interference with other spectrum users... rather than trying to win a wireless "demolition derby"