THE DYNAMICS OF SPECTRUM MANAGEMENT: LEGACY, TECHNOLOGY AND ECONOMICS
Rohit Prasad and V Sridhar
Oxford University Press
367 pages; Rs 995
Spectrum, the airwaves that enable wireless communication, has been the source of fierce controversy in India ever since India's comptroller and auditor general revealed a scandal in the allocation and pricing of this scarce resource. As the debate develops ahead of the latest auctions of spectrum, this book comes as a handy guide to the theoretical framework governing the technology and economics of spectrum.
It is a comprehensive study that offers examples derived from practices around the world to illustrate the underlying principles of spectrum management. As importantly, it also offers a forward spin, with a section documenting future technologies that enable the use of spectrum spaces along with the accompanying economic rationale and policy prescriptions.
This book starts with an introduction of the technology of wireless communications, proceeds to outline the economic principles that form spectrum management regimes and then presents the dynamics of the transition paths from legacy regimes. Finally, it presents a case study of India from wireless communications to broadcasting.
The book has analysed the nature of spectrum in terms of two classifications. One is excludability: or the availability of technological solutions for monitoring exclusive use of spectrum blocks. The second is rivalrousness: or the use of specific frequencies to transmit signals by the users of telephony/data services. The transmission of signals of sufficiently high power and by multiple users at the same time and at the same frequency in close physical proximity leads to interference, rendering the system unusable and resulting in spectrum use rivalrous, at least partially.
The significant addition in this book is the analysis of the migration of regulatory regimes. The allocation of spectrum falls under three broad frameworks: command and control, flexible use, and spectrum commons. Some of the economic principles underlying decision-making in the context of command and control are - determining spectrum use, use of technology standards, number of licence blocks and administrative price.
Predictably perhaps, much of the book is devoted to the spectrum management and policies in India, starting from the initial allocation in 1995 to the substantial controversies surrounding the "first-come, first-served" principle followed during the 2000s, to finally liberalisation and auction of spectrum in 2012-13.
Spectrum auctions are an important part of spectrum management. It has been proved that auctions are the best and the most successful method for assigning spectrum rights. The authors have warned the government not to focus only on the revenue generation possibilities of spectrum as the revenue generation can also be achieved by releasing limited amounts of spectrum - which is partly what is happening now - and assigning monopoly rights to the winning bidder.
The book also explains the various economic models for valuing spectrum. Some of the prevailing methods consist of benchmarking the current value to some proximate auction, or carrying out a calculation based on the capacity of a given spectrum block.
A large number of countries adopt a gradual approach to the liberalisation of spectrum. In India, spectrum auctions and leasing have been introduced, but trading appears to have been ruled out for now. The government continues to determine the use and technology to be deployed.
The authors say the internet has provided content providers and application developers with a huge and an addressable market with very low barriers to entry. The access has been based on the principle of net neutrality, the ideal that the communication passing through an electronic network would depend on the choices made by content and application developers (CAPs) on the one hand and users on the other, and not the intermediary provider of the network. The analytical models highlight the fact that the impact of net neutrality is subtle and context-dependent. The issue of net neutrality is also fundamentally linked to debates in communications studies about the role of the gatekeeper and the content provider.
The authors explain the unique Indian story as a legacy problem, mired as it is in the command-and-control era. As a result, the markets are highly fragmented and mired in litigation. They show how the government has navigated through the complex issues of technology and policy within the legacy with varying degrees of adeptness and foresight. It is heartening to note that the Indian mobile market is vibrant with intense competition and a large scalable subscriber base. India is the best testing ground, much like the United States, for experimenting with newer ways of managing spectrum. It requires the will of all stakeholders concerned, the government as the policymaker and the regulator, Telecom Regulatory Authority of India, as a spectrum manager.
The book has explained all the aspects of spectrum in simple language, and the use of case studies makes it a meaningful guide for both lay and technical readers.
Rohit Prasad and V Sridhar
Oxford University Press
367 pages; Rs 995
Spectrum, the airwaves that enable wireless communication, has been the source of fierce controversy in India ever since India's comptroller and auditor general revealed a scandal in the allocation and pricing of this scarce resource. As the debate develops ahead of the latest auctions of spectrum, this book comes as a handy guide to the theoretical framework governing the technology and economics of spectrum.
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It is a comprehensive study that offers examples derived from practices around the world to illustrate the underlying principles of spectrum management. As importantly, it also offers a forward spin, with a section documenting future technologies that enable the use of spectrum spaces along with the accompanying economic rationale and policy prescriptions.
This book starts with an introduction of the technology of wireless communications, proceeds to outline the economic principles that form spectrum management regimes and then presents the dynamics of the transition paths from legacy regimes. Finally, it presents a case study of India from wireless communications to broadcasting.
The book has analysed the nature of spectrum in terms of two classifications. One is excludability: or the availability of technological solutions for monitoring exclusive use of spectrum blocks. The second is rivalrousness: or the use of specific frequencies to transmit signals by the users of telephony/data services. The transmission of signals of sufficiently high power and by multiple users at the same time and at the same frequency in close physical proximity leads to interference, rendering the system unusable and resulting in spectrum use rivalrous, at least partially.
The significant addition in this book is the analysis of the migration of regulatory regimes. The allocation of spectrum falls under three broad frameworks: command and control, flexible use, and spectrum commons. Some of the economic principles underlying decision-making in the context of command and control are - determining spectrum use, use of technology standards, number of licence blocks and administrative price.
Predictably perhaps, much of the book is devoted to the spectrum management and policies in India, starting from the initial allocation in 1995 to the substantial controversies surrounding the "first-come, first-served" principle followed during the 2000s, to finally liberalisation and auction of spectrum in 2012-13.
Spectrum auctions are an important part of spectrum management. It has been proved that auctions are the best and the most successful method for assigning spectrum rights. The authors have warned the government not to focus only on the revenue generation possibilities of spectrum as the revenue generation can also be achieved by releasing limited amounts of spectrum - which is partly what is happening now - and assigning monopoly rights to the winning bidder.
The book also explains the various economic models for valuing spectrum. Some of the prevailing methods consist of benchmarking the current value to some proximate auction, or carrying out a calculation based on the capacity of a given spectrum block.
A large number of countries adopt a gradual approach to the liberalisation of spectrum. In India, spectrum auctions and leasing have been introduced, but trading appears to have been ruled out for now. The government continues to determine the use and technology to be deployed.
The authors say the internet has provided content providers and application developers with a huge and an addressable market with very low barriers to entry. The access has been based on the principle of net neutrality, the ideal that the communication passing through an electronic network would depend on the choices made by content and application developers (CAPs) on the one hand and users on the other, and not the intermediary provider of the network. The analytical models highlight the fact that the impact of net neutrality is subtle and context-dependent. The issue of net neutrality is also fundamentally linked to debates in communications studies about the role of the gatekeeper and the content provider.
The authors explain the unique Indian story as a legacy problem, mired as it is in the command-and-control era. As a result, the markets are highly fragmented and mired in litigation. They show how the government has navigated through the complex issues of technology and policy within the legacy with varying degrees of adeptness and foresight. It is heartening to note that the Indian mobile market is vibrant with intense competition and a large scalable subscriber base. India is the best testing ground, much like the United States, for experimenting with newer ways of managing spectrum. It requires the will of all stakeholders concerned, the government as the policymaker and the regulator, Telecom Regulatory Authority of India, as a spectrum manager.
The book has explained all the aspects of spectrum in simple language, and the use of case studies makes it a meaningful guide for both lay and technical readers.