[ajosh]

That is really the purpose of the amateur service. It is available to the general public with an inexpensive / free license. Business use is prohibited. There are a lot of other rules that you may or may not like but that is the purpose of amateur radio.

There are allocations across the spectrum including some bands that are very valuable today (440MHz, 900MHz, 1.2GHz). There are also allocations in bands with interesting properties such as high microwave, MF and short wave. The ITU even recently approved use in long wave bands which hasn't been available for amateur use for over 80 years.

[mmagin]

While that's great for some purposes, I think the GP is suggesting that there is a need for more accessible spectrum for businesses which do not have the financial capabilities or political capabilities as the large telecoms and broadcasters.

[ac29]

How much spectrum? Businesses and individuals can get non-exclusive FCC licences (you don't have exclusive usage rights, but in practice, you can operate 24/7 without interference) for small slices of spectrum (12.5 or 25kHz) for under $1000 for a 10 year licence. If you want 1MHz+ in a desirable band, with exclusive usage rights, well, there's a reason those auctions end up going for millions or billions of dollars.

[pdelbarba]

The most notable restriction being a prohibition on encryption of any kind.

[kakarot]

On what bands is this applicable?

[pdelbarba]

All amateur bands. There is one exception for radio controlled vehicle telemetry.