ELI5: Explain Like I'm 5

Spectrum commons theory

Do you know about colors of the rainbow, like red, orange, yellow, green, blue, indigo, and violet? Just like how these colors make up a rainbow, there are also "colors" of radio waves called the electromagnetic spectrum. These are things like AM and FM radio, television signals, Wi-Fi, and even cell phone signals.

Now, imagine that these radio waves are like toys that are available to everyone to play with. But just like how sometimes other kids may want to play with your toys, sometimes different groups of people or companies may want to use certain parts of the spectrum for their own purposes. For example, it would be hard for your mom to watch her favorite TV show if the neighbor's Wi-Fi signal was interfering with her TV signal.

Spectrum commons theory is the idea that instead of letting private companies or other groups own certain parts of the spectrum exclusively, we should try to allow everyone to use it equally and share it like a big playground. This would mean that instead of big companies owning all of the radio wave toys and getting to play with them however they want, everyone would get to use them and share them fairly.

Some people think that this could encourage more innovation and creativity in how people and companies use the spectrum. This is because if everyone has access to the same tools and toys, they can work together to try new things and come up with better ideas.

Overall, the idea behind spectrum commons theory is to make sure that everyone has a fair chance to access and use the electromagnetic spectrum, and to encourage collaboration and innovation.