Database-assisted TV white space network is a promising paradigm of dynamic spectrum sharing, and can effectively improve spectrum utilization and alleviate spectrum scarcity via centralized control of TV white space databases residing in the cloud. In this article, we discuss business modeling for a database-assisted TV white space network, which is very important for wide commercialization of this promising technology. Motivated by several recent business practices, we propose and study two types of different business models: spectrum market and information market. In the spectrum market model, spectrum licensees, through spectrum brokers acted by databases, lease the underutilized (licensed) TV channels to unlicensed wireless devices for secondary utilization.
In the information market model, databases sell the advanced information regarding (unlicensed) TV channels to unlicensed wireless devices in order to enhance the secondary spectrum utilization performance. We outline the corresponding trading mechanism details for both market models, and evaluate the feasibility and performance of both models through theoretical and numerical studies. Numerical results indicate that both the database operator’s profit and the total network profit can be significantly improved under properly designed trading mechanisms.