Spectrum sharing in India: Confident baby steps

[Commentary] In a welcome move, the Indian government on August 12 approved the sharing of spectrum between telecommunications operators in an effort to improve the efficiency of the sector. Exponential growth in consumer demand for wireless services is driving the evolution of wireless networks towards high speed data networks. But with most spectrum already allocated, it is becoming exceedingly difficult to find vacant bands to either deploy new services or to enhance existing ones. As a result, many people complain about severe spectrum shortage in India. However, various measurements have shown that much of the valuable spectrum is idle at any given time and location. This finding suggests that spectrum scarcity is largely due to the inefficient and rigid regulations rather than a physical shortage of spectrum. More specifically, antiquated spectrum policies that do not facilitate sharing are significantly contributing to this shortage.

The traditional approach to spectrum management has been inflexible since frequency bands are exclusively licensed to users. Tight limits are set on the transmitted power in order to shield systems from mutual interference at all times. One hundred years ago, this was the only viable option for protecting systems from interference because the transmitters could not adapt their parameters and the receivers had little or no protection from inter-system interference. However, advancements in transceiver design make this policy outdated. Spectrum sharing should be facilitated and encouraged so that telecom operators can achieve higher efficiency and consumers can benefit from better quality products and services.

[Dr. Shamika Ravi is an assistant professor of economics at the Indian School of Business]