Taiwan aims to auction 4G licenses by 2013 (Taiwan)
The Taiwanese government is planning to commence its 4G auction schedule two years ahead of schedule, by 2013 in an attempt to enable operators to launch their LTE services by 2015, as suggested by reports. Sources reveal that these allocations are expected to be in either the 700 MHz or the 2.6 GHz bands and may be released together with the 900MHz and 1.8GHz spectrum.
According to reports, the ministry would need to reach an agreement to replace the 700-MHz band as the spectrum is currently allocated to the military. As revealed by sources, the advance in Taiwan’s LTE schedule may hint at the country’s shift in focus from Wimax technology to LTE.
AgCom speeds up mobile spectrum auction (Italy)
AgCom Italys’ Communications Authority has redecided to speed up the auction of the new frequencies to be allocated to mobile operators.
The Authority has adopted a draft regulation of the auction which will now be subject to public consultation. On the market, will be eventually offered 300 MHz of new frequencies, a significant portion of the band, that the regulator plans to make available to Telecom Italia, Vodafone Italia, Wind, 3 Italia and also to any new entrants.
The frequencies being auctioned will come from the so-called digital dividend i.e. frequencies to be vacated by 2012 by local TV channels.
Anacom plans to auction LTE in June (Portugal)
Anacom, Portuguese telecommunications regulator is planning to launch the auction of frequencies in June. This will allow the introduction of LTE services.
Anacom expects that the revenues from the auction could reach US$637.74 million if all lots are sold. The public consultation on the draft regulations of the auction is open until May2, after which Anacom will finalize the terms of the auction.
Ofcom outline plans for 4G license auction (UK)
UK’s telecoms regulator, Ofcom has announced the proposed details for its upcoming radio spectrum auction which is expected to pave the way for 4G services in the country. It has stated that the spectrum auction is the largest ever single auction of additional spectrum for mobile services in the UK, equivalent to three quarters of the mobile spectrum in use today and 80% more than the 3G auction which took place in 2000.
It is believed that the auction will take place in the first quarter of 2012. The auction will be for two spectrum bands – 800 MHz and 2.6 GHz, and adds up to 250 MHz of additional mobile spectrum.
The auction structure will also be biased to ensure that the market retains at least four mobile networks (5 if you split the merged Orange/T-Mobile).
According to Ofcom, the least restrictive way to ensure at least four national competitors is through the use of spectrum floors in the auction. This involves disregarding any auction outcomes in which four companies do not win the minimum amount of spectrum necessary to provide higher quality data services. This can involve different combinations of spectrum, each of which could be sufficient to ensure a credible competitor.
Ofcom has proposed that this minimum amount should be one of the following five combinations:
- 2×5 MHz of sub 1 GHz spectrum and 2×20 MHz or more of 2.6 GHz; or
- 2×5 MHz of sub 1 GHz spectrum and 2×15 MHz or more of 1800 MHz; or
- 2×10 MHz of sub 1 GHz spectrum and 2×15 MHz or more of 2.6 GHz; or
- 2×10 MHz of sub 1 GHz spectrum plus 2×10 MHz or more of 1800 MHz; or
- 2×15 MHz or more of sub 1 GHz spectrum.
The watchdog also proposes to put in place safeguard caps to guard against longer term risks to competition from any one licensee holding a disproportionate amount of spectrum.
There will be a sub 1GHz safeguard cap of 2×27.5 MHz, which will mean that no one competitor can obtain more than this amount of sub 1 GHz spectrum, and there will also be an overall spectrum holdings cap of 2×105 MHz, which will mean that no one competitor can obtain more than this amount of spectrum overall.
Securing wide availability of next generation mobile broadband.
Ofcom also proposes to include a coverage obligation in just one of the 800 MHz licenses. The obligation would require the licensee to provide a mobile broadband service covering 95% of the UK population. It is expected that bidders will factor in the cost of achieving this obligation when making bids for the licence. This should result in coverage for future mobile broadband services that approaches today’s 2G coverage. The date for meeting these obligations would be the end of 2017.
A consultation is being carried out to iron out the final details, such as which of the five above spectrum limits should be adopted before the auction takes place next year.
Thai telecom regulator plans to auction 3G licenses by year-end
Acting National Broadcasting and Telecommunications Commissioner Natee Sokonrat has stated that NTC is planning to conduct an auction by the end of this year for licenses to operate the frequency spectrum used for 3G mobile phone services.
According to Natee, NBTC is in the process of drafting master plans for the telecommunications industry and frequency allocation, which are expected to be completed by May, to pave way for the frequency licensing. The drafting of the master plan is an effort by acting commissioners to shorten the work process for a new set of commissioners, currently under selection.
A new law that will help establish the NBTC, an independent body to supervise Thailand’s telecommunications and broadcasting sectors, was enacted in December last year. While the NBTC has yet to be formed, the law stated that the existing National Telecommunication Commission (NTC) assumes the responsibility of NBTC.
China Telecommunications to sell $1.52 bn bills on March 8
China Telecommunications Corp is planning to auction one year bills worth $1.52 billion on the interbank market on March 8.
As per the company’s statement, it will use the proceeds to supplement its working capital.
The company added that Industrial & Commercial Bank of China Ltd. and Bank of China Ltd. are the main underwriters of the deal.
Britain plans to auction mobile spectrum in 2012
The Communications Regulator, Ofcom has revealed that Britain is planning to auction more radio spectrum in 2012 to mobile telecoms operators who need it to handle increasing amounts of data traffic.
Up till now, Germany is the only European country to have auctioned off the spectrum that has been freed up by broadcasters switching from analogue to digital transmission, raising US$5.8 billion last year.
The European Union, seeking to boost cross-border trade and create jobs, has stated that EU countries should release spectrum to mobile operators by 2013 to spur consumer demand.
The use of mobile Internet services such as browsing, email and the updating of social networks have exploded in the last three years, leaving operators struggling to satisfy demand.
According to Ofcom, it aimed to start the auction of licences for 800 MHz and 2.6 GHz bands by the end of its 2011/12 financial year, which runs until end-March 2012, or early in 2012/13, and to issue the licences in the first half of 2012/13.
The 800 MHz band previously used by broadcasters is particularly suitable for mobile broadband.
Auctions have already been held in several European countries for the 2.6 GHz band, which is suitable for next-generation mobile networks using LTE or WiMax technologies.
On Thursday Ofcom has ssaid that it would allow airwaves currently used for 2G services — mainly voice calls and texting — to be used for 3G mobile broadband services too.
Telecoms operators in Europe spent over $100 billion for 3G licences in 2000 — US$34 billion in Britain alone — in a rush to build networks for services that turned out to be slow to materialize.
The coming round of auctions is expected to raise far less.
Ofcom will consult on its draft plan until March 1 with a view to publishing its actual plan for 2011/12 in April.
Belgium expects to auction fourth 3G licence in 2011
If reports are to be believed, despite political disputes, Belgium is expected to auction a fourth 3G licence in 2011.
According to reports, Belgian cable company Telenet previously considered to be a favorite to bid for a licence may not take part in the auction because of regulatory issues.
The 3G licence auction had been expected in late 2010, but the country’s political decision making process has been hampered as the main parties have struggled to agree on the terms of a government coalition ever since mid-2009 elections.
ETSA announces winner of 4G spectrum auction (Estonia)
The Estonian Technical Surveillance Authority (ETSA) has announced that mobile network operator Eesti Mobiiltelefon (EMT) and fixed line telco Elion Enterprises, along with two other Finnish companies, have successfully bid for spectrum in the 2500MHz -2690MHz band.
According to reports, citing LETA/Postimees Online, six blocks of spectrum were made available by the regulator, and eleven bids by nine companies were received for the frequencies. Saunalahti Group and Dial Media, both of which are connected to Estonian triple-play provider Elisa, bagged 2x20MHz of frequency-division duplex (FDD) spectrum, suitable for ‘4G’ services using technology such as Long Term Evolution (LTE) and WiMAX, while Elion was awarded 2x10MHz of FDD spectrum.
EMT bagged not only 2x20MHz of FDD frequencies but laid claim to two 20MHz blocks of time-division duplex (TDD) spectrum. The winning bidders will now be required to make the relevant payments for their concessions, which have not been revealed by the regulator.
Tele2 Estonia has, meanwhile, claimed that it will contest the results of the auction, claiming that the winning bids made by both of Elisa’s subsidiaries were unrealistic.
According to Toomas Tiivel, Tele2 Estonia’s chairman, the company found that during the contest two clearly fictitious and unrealistic bids by Elisa’s Finnish subsidiaries qualified … From the point of view of operators, the conditions of the contest were reasonable but unfortunately there were companies who maliciously took advantage of them and thus obstruct competition. They have reason to believe that these two bids will be withdrawn by bidders. If that is not done, Tele2 intends to dispute the results of the contest since they estimate that the conditions of the contest were manipulated.
