Europe prepares for spectrum goldrush in three bands
Published: 2 April, 2009
Many observers have predicted that many spectrum auctions would be put on ice during the recession, as operators struggle to find the kind of fees that governments will want, but in Europe stimulus plans and rising mobile broadband demand are having the opposite effect. The European Union has given the green light to the refarming of 900MHz GSM bands for 3G and other mobile broadband services, confirming the policy already supported by some countries like the UK, and a wave of 2.6GHz auctions could also take place from this year.
France and Belgium are planning to sell fourth 3G licenses in 2.1GHz this year, and with T-Mobile dropping its legal challenge to the UK 2.6GHz auction, there are high hopes this will go ahead in the autumn. Also in 2.6GHz, Finland is to launch a tender for licenses in November, offering 20-year national franchises, comprising 14 2x5MHz paired chunks of spectrum. There will be an initial fee of €50,000 for all interested parties in Finland, and the starting price is expected to be about €15,000 per MHz of spectrum.
Down in 900MHz, there is likely to be an accelerated wave of UMTS900 deployments now that refarming of GSM is official Brussels policy, says the GSA (Global mobile Suppliers' Association). According to the GSA, eight UMTS900-HSPA systems are now in commercial service in Europe, Latin America, and the Asia Pacific region and there are 115 HSPA devices on the market that can work in 900MHz as well as 2.1GHz.
In Italy, there are plans to sell off unused 3G spectrum to existing or new operators in the coming few months, with a reserve price of €88.7m per block. Interested parties have until noon on 8 May to submit their bids. The licenses were originally awarded to a consortium called Ipse 2000 in the 2001 auction, but this failed to deliver services and handed back 15MHz of paired spectrum and 5MHz of TDD in January 2006. This will now be sold in three blocks.
Italy's existing cellcos - TIM, Vodafone, Wind and 3 - are eligible to take part in the process, but each will be restricted to a maximum of two blocks of spectrum. A newcomer could acquire all three blocks though the only likely candidate is broadband provider Fastweb, which has an MVNO deal with struggling 3 Italia.
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