Using Simulation Techniques to Analyse Third Generation Mobile Spectrum Auctions

摘要

Licences for Third Generation Mobile (3GM) spectrum have been auctioned in the UK and other countries throughout the world have followed suit by running auctions for allocating their future generation mobile spectrum. An understanding of the dynamics of the auction design used, and the likely strategies which bidders might have to adopt, is therefore of vital importance to telecom operators who wish to win a licence in these and similar spectrum auctions. There is also increasing interest in auctions in general, born out of the burgeoning Internet-based auction business and the potential use of auctions to sell telecoms bandwidth on the wholesale and even retail markets. Research into auction theory will therefore be of increasing importance to providers of telecommunication services. A team from BT with expertise in game theory and complex system modelling applied two techniques to aid the understanding of the UK 3GM Auction. First, they constructed a simulation tool which allowed the modelling of entire auctions, and the analysis of the different outcomes produced by an ensemble of auctions. In this paper results from the simulation tool are presented and compared with the actual auction. The second analysis technique used was the construction of a mock auction tool which could be used to facilitate practice auctions, in order to learn bidding strategies interactively. This tool was used in practice for the auction in training the teams involved in bidding. In the final section of the paper the likely role of auctions in telecommunications in a wider context are discussed.