Spectrum could be a major limiting factor for the Internet of Things, Ericsson CTO says

8 January 2015 by Steve Blum
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“Radio frequencies are going to become the most scare resource on the planet, more scarce than oil”, said Ulf Ewaldsson, Chief Technology Officer for Ericsson. “Frequencies are scarce because there are better frequencies and less better frequencies”.

Speaking at CES this afternoon, he said that current frequency allocations often reflect policy choices intended to keep particular interests happy rather than making the most efficient use of spectrum possible. Television broadcasters in Europe are one example, he said. In other places – he didn’t specifically point to the U.S. – it’s the military that’s the problem.