The Hindu Business Line : Spectrum: Google's call on real time auction generates interest

New Delhi June 26 Even as the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India is exploring the option of allowing sharing of spectrum, decision makers including the Department of Telecom are closely studying a proposal made by Internet major Google to the US regulator to permit real-time auction of radio waves.

In its proposal given to the Federal Communications Commission, Google argued that permitting companies to resell the airwaves in a real-time auction would make it possible to improve spectrum use and thereby better the quality of service being offered to consumers. In real-time auction, operators would be able to keep track of each others' spectrum usage across the country through an online portal and a company could buy spectrum from another operator, which may have unused spectrum during off-peak hours.

If there are multiple operators wanting to buy the chunk of excess spectrum then an online auction will take place where the highest bidder will get to use the radio frequency for a year or even two seconds depending on the need.

The process is similar to the way advertisement spots are taken up on Google's online search engine.

Senior DoT officials said, "We are closely watching it. The suggestions made by Google to the US regulator involve complex issues and may not have any immediate relevance for the current spectrum allocation process but we are studying how FCC responds and then we could consider it for our long-term policy. "

Spectrum crunch

Indian mobile operators, with pan-India network, however, rejected the idea of spectrum sharing on the grounds that it was relevant only when there was excess spectrum. "How can you think of sharing something when we ourselves do not have enough? All the operators are facing spectrum crunch and, therefore, it is far fetched to suggest that someone with excess radio frequency can sell it to another operator," said a GSM operator. In the US, large operators likeVerizon have also disagreed with Google's proposals. However, the move is supported by smaller operators like Spice Communications, which despite having applied for licences for pan-India operations cannot roll out its services due to lack of spectrum.

"Agreed that spectrum cannot be shared in metros and top 20 cities where the subscriber density is high, but in other areas where operators have excess spectrum, it can be given to greenfield operators who do not have any spectrum to even start services," said a small operator.

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Spectrum: Google's call on real time auction generates interest