TOTM
Indiana Jones and the Allocation of Spectrum
Hootenannies are mostly peaceful affairs, so it’s a bit awkward to invoke a violent metaphor here.
In “Raiders of the Lost Ark,” Indiana Jones runs down a Cairo sidestreet only to be confronted by a swordsman. The swordsman makes a big show of tossing his weapon from hand-to-hand and swirling it around. But Indy has no time for such nonsense—he pulls out his gun and shoots the would-be assassin.
U.S. spectrum policy is much like the swordsman. While the telecom regulators swirl around studies of how to allocate spectrum, the rest of the world is pulling the trigger.