ABSTRACT
What is the radio spectrum? At a basic level, it is an electromagnetic wave, consisting of both an electrical element and a magnetic element. It is part of the overall electromagnetic spectrum together with infrared, visible light, x-rays and gamma rays, as shown in Figure 3.1. It is a wave that travels through space at the speed of light. But the most important question in the context of spectrum liberalisation is the following: What gives the radio spectrum economic value? For this, we need to understand some of the basic technical characteristics of radio waves as it is these characteristics which give the radio spectrum value and which cause certain parts of the spectrum to have a higher value than others for particular applications.
