As indicated in a graph from the National Telecommunications and Information Administration (NTIA), frequency allocations may be represented by different types of services which vary in size.
[2] Many options exist when applying for a broadcast license; the FCC determines how much spectrum to allot to licensees in a given band,[3] according to what is needed for the service in question.
In issuing broadcast licenses the FCC relies on "comparative hearings", whereby the most qualified user will be granted use of the spectrum to best serve the public interest; researchers have pointed out that this procedure favors incumbents.
Unlicensed broadcasting refers to legal devices allowed to transmit at low power without a license and pirate stations, which violate the law.
This proposition is based on the Coase theorem: with well-defined property rights, the free market will allocate resources to their most efficient use if transaction costs are low.
Licenses are increasingly offered via spectrum auctions; however, this fails to consider non-commercial educational users (who are shut out of the process for economic reasons).
Licensing is conducted by a broadcasting authority (a government agency) to manage the radio-frequency spectrum and implement public policy, such as that regarding the concentration of media ownership.
If a frequency is available, an engineering study is submitted with an application to the broadcasting authority, to demonstrate that the licensee will not cause RF interference to existing stations.
Where a station is close to an international border, a license may also need to be approved by the foreign country's broadcasting authority for frequency coordination.
Other situations (such as a change in the city of license) are covered in rulemaking proceedings in the U.S., which may be a prerequisite to moving a station a significant distance (leaving its original community outside its new coverage area).
Radio bands carry signals (such as video and audio, digital and analog, narrowband, broadband and content), and are licensed differently.