The release of the temporary spectrum in advance of the spectrum auction later this year or possibly next, provides us with an opportunity to correct course in order to meet our primary national digital objective of affordable access to the full range of communication services for all. Greater consideration needs to be given to safeguarding the social value of spectrum as a public good. Some classes of key resources (like spectrum) need demand-side valuation to recognise their utility. Besides infrastructure resources being fundamental to generating greater value, when used as inputs into a wide range of productive processes, outputs of infrastructure industries are generally public and non-market goods that create positive multipliers in both the economy and society.
