Competitive Process for Licensing Spectrum (Spectrum Auctions)
Spectrum auctioning, which refers to the auctioning of the right to use specified radio frequency spectrum, is a market-based approach used today to determine the price an interested party will pay to use this national resource for a period of time. Being a market-based approach, the bidders determine the final price of the spectrum resource being auctioned and the resource would go to the bidder who values it the most.
The Authority has conducted three (3) spectrum auctions to-date, as follows:
(01)
June 23, 2005
The auction of spectrum blocks for the introduction of additional public domestic mobile telecommunications concessionaires. Bidding took place for spectrum blocks in the 850 MHz band (824 – 894 MHz) and 1900 MHz (1880 – 1990 MHz) bands. The bidders who participated in this auction process were all pre-qualified through an initial Request for Proposal (RFP) process, in which a prospective bidder’s business proposal was reviewed and scored in order to qualify for the auction stage. An online auction approach was designed and conducted through the engagement of an Auction Manager. The type of auction employed was a simultaneous multi-round clocked auction.
(02) October 5, 2007
October 5, 2007: The auction of spectrum blocks for the provision of Broadband Wireless Access (BWA) services. Bidding took place for spectrum block in the Lower 700 MHz (698 – 746 MHz), 12 GHz (12.2 – 12.7 GHz) and 28 GHz (25.35 – 28.35 GHz) bands. Similarly to the mobile auction, bidders who participated in this auction process were all pre-qualified through an initial Request for Proposal (RFP) process. However, a paper-based auction approach was designed and employed in this process, as it was not cost-effective to conduct an online auction for this spectrum, due to the expected earnings from the auction proceeds. However an Auction Manager, Pricewaterhouse Coopers (PwC)/Nordicity, was engaged in order to design and conduct this auction. Nonetheless, a simultaneous multi-round clocked auction was employed.
(03)
April 3, 2009
A second BWA auction was conducted for spectrum blocks in the 2.3 GHz (2.3 – 2.36 GHz) and 2.5 GHz (2.5 – 2.69 GHz) bands, along with the spectrum remaining in the Lower 700 MHz band from the first BWA auction. A pre-qualification of bidders was conducted consistent with the previous auctions. A similar paper-based auction approach to the first BWA auction was employed with PwC/Nordicity as the Auction Manager again. A simultaneous multi-round clocked auction was maintained.