A radio communication apparatus which communicates with a radio terminal device, the apparatus belonging to a first group, the device performing handoff between apparatuses which belong to the first group, the apparatus includes unit selecting one block from frequency blocks obtained by dividing a specified frequency band, the frequency blocks being continuous on a frequency axis, unit detecting an unused channel among channels contained in the selected block, unit detecting an in-use channel among the channels when the unused channel is detected, unit determining whether a second group to which a device which is using the detected in-use channel belongs is the same as the first group, and unit assigning the detected unused channel as a channel for communication with the radio terminal device when the in-use channel fails to be detected or the determination unit determines that the second group is the same as the first group.