Electronic Proceedings - United Nations Office for Outer Space Affairs

2. Domestic Licenses and Concessions - 1Background As part of WTO Country Commitments, many nations have agreed to adopt fair and transparentlicensing procedures for the right to use spectrum for public or private services, as well asproviding for certain flexibility in spectrum allocations to accommodate a variety oftechnologies A significant number of nations, however, still lack transparent, non-discriminatory licensingregimes and in certain cases apply strict foreign ownership limitations or restrictions on thetransfer of licenses to potential purchasers Enforcement of radio-frequency usage / spectrum channelization compliance is also lacking incertain regions and countries, resulting in potential instances of harmful interference withwireless servicesIssues For global operators, domestic licensing is often a costly and time-consuming endeavor Certain countries have or are in the process of establishing spectrum-usage tariffs – suchadditional regulatory costs could significantly impact the operations of global satellitecommunications services providers354Milbank