A Study on White and Gray Spaces in India

Abstract

TV ‘White Space’ spectrum is characterized by large amounts of geographically available spectrum with excellent propagation characteristics, offering long range and exceptional building penetration compared to the spectrum used by WiFi and Bluetooth equipment. As a result TV white space spectrum is ideal for providing fixed broadband internet services to locations where the routing of cables or optical fibre is neither practical nor economical; and hence important from a developing world perspective. The prospects can be further broadend by considering ‘gray space’ spectrum which is characterized by spectrum that is not fully available in time or space. The amount of TV white space in the VHF and UHF TV band in South India from an analytical point of view is studied. The results are corroborated by extensive experimental data collected from various places in South India. We then present quantitative assessment and estimates for the gray spaces in GSM900 and GSM1800 bands for Hyderabad City. These results are indicative and allow for a whole lot of possibilities. We then describe a unique ‘gray space’ GSM voice call test bed setup at IIT Hyderabad. However, white space and gray space sharing have different policy and governance requirements. We conclude the chapter by discussing possible policy and governance structures from an Indian point of view.