Publication: A Techno-Economic Study of Spectrum Sharing with Blockchain and Smart Contracts

Christina Clark on November 28, 2022

P. J. Bustamante, M. M. Gomez, M. B. H. Weiss, I. Murtazashvili and A. Palida, “A Techno-Economic Study of Spectrum Sharing with Blockchain and Smart Contracts,” in IEEE Communications Magazine, doi: 10.1109/MCOM.001.2200317.

Abstract: “The wireless crunch resulted in excess demand for the use of spectrum and spectrum sharing is increasingly being proposed as a solution. To date, little research has considered how blockchain technologies can enable greater spectrum sharing. To address this gap, we develop a stylized model to show how blockchains can be leveraged to facilitate the exchange of access rights on a well known band. To demonstrate proof of concept, we analyze available system design options, implement a small-scale test scenario, estimate the implementation and usage costs, and demonstrate how these technologies impact spectrum sharing prospects. Our exercise shows that blockchains can alleviate some of the perceived obstacles to greater sharing of spectrum.”

Published in IEEE Communications Magazine.

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Publication: Bitcoin’s Latency-Security Analysis Made Simple

Christina Clark on November 28, 2022

By Dongning Guo and Ling Ren

Abstract: “Simple closed-form upper and lower bounds are developed for the security of the Nakamoto consensus as a function of the confirmation depth, the honest and adversarial block mining rates, and an upper bound on the block propagation delay. The bounds are exponential in the confirmation depth and apply regardless of the adversary’s attack strategy. The gap between the upper and lower bounds is small for Bitcoin’s parameters. For example, assuming an average block interval of 10 minutes, a network delay bound of ten seconds, and 10% adversarial mining power, the widely used 6-block confirmation rule yields a safety violation between 0.11% and 0.35% probability.”

Proceedings of the 4th ACM Conference on Advances in Financial Technologies, September 2022

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Publication: Spectrum Sovereignty on Tribal Lands: Assessing the DIGITAL Reservations Act

Christina Clark on October 18, 2022

Published on SSRN, August 3, 2022
Authored by: Darrah Blackwater (Independent), Ilia Murtazashvili (University of Pittsburgh – Graduate School of Public and International Affairs), and Martin B.H. Weiss (University of PIttsburgh – School of Computing and Information)

Abstract: The Federal Communications Commission currently has unlimited authority over governance of electromagnetic spectrum on sovereign tribal lands in the United States. This monocentric system, with spectrum governed exclusively by the FCC, essentially eliminates opportunities for tribal governments to develop innovative ways to manage spectrum to close the digital divide on Tribal lands, to choose how much of spectrum is available for commercial, public, or community use, and eliminates ability of tribes to fully control revenue from spectrum on tribal lands. The Deploying the Internet by Guaranteeing Indian Tribes Autonomy over Licensing (DIGITAL) Reservations Act envisions a new path for spectrum governance which affirms self-management and self-governance of spectrum on tribal lands. In this paper, we consider the extent to which the DIGITAL Reservations Act contrasts with current spectrum governance in the United States. We argue that the DIGITAL Reservations Act envisions a polycentric system of spectrum governance and that it is a workable system of spectrum governance that acknowledges tribal sovereignty over one of its most valuable assets.

DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.2139/ssrn.4178671