Ofcom has initiated a consultation on a future licensing process in Switzerland for the 700 MHz, 1400 MHz and 3.6 GHz ranges. It is planning to hold an auction in late 2018 and is seeking input now on whether the bands should be considered together or auctioned separately, what the appropriate format should be for…
There are number of FCC processes in the pipeline that involve auctions, but not all for spectrum licenses. Connect America Fund (CAF) and Mobility Fund (MF)– These funds provide subsidy for broadband deployment in unserved and underserved areas and were borne out of the 2010 National Broadband Plan. An initial award process was conducted in…
How much spectrum is required for 5G? The short answer is a lot. The detailed answer varies according to each carrier’s spectrum holdings but most carriers will need to at least double or more than double their spectrum holdings to offer quality 5G services. Spectrum in different bands will also be required for coverage and…
One of the most talked about news items of the last few weeks has been the conclusion of the FCC’s 600 MHz Incentive Auction. The Incentive Auction played out over four stages (starting at 100 MHz and descending to 70 MHz) and more than a year. The Auction was overall fairly successful, even though it…
The results of the Irish auction of 3.6 GHz licenses were announced by the regulator, ComReg, on May 22, 2017. Winning bids were €60.5 million (US$67.7 million). To this are added annual usage fees totalling €17.7 million (US$19.8 million) for a grand total of €78.2 million (US$87.5 million). The auction was for 350 MHz of capacity across…
In October 2016, the Iceland Post and Telecom Administration (Post-og Fjarskiptastofnun or PTA) published draft rules for an electronic auction of frequencies in bands 700, 2100, and 2600 MHz. Six parties submitted comments and the terms of the auction were updated to include licenses in the 800 MHz band. In March 2017, parties were invited to submit…
How much spectrum is required for 5G? The short answer is a lot. The detailed answer varies according to each carrier’s spectrum holdings but most carriers will need to double or more than double their spectrum holdings to offer quality 5G services. Spectrum in different bands will also be required for coverage and capacity… low,…
There were 5G announcements in 2016 in Canada but few details in terms of concrete plans from mobile carriers. Of note are technology trials completed by Bell and Nokia, conducted using 73 GHz spectrum, as well as TELUS and Huawei in Vancouver, where speeds of up to 29.3 Gbps were achieved as part of its…
The CRTC issued Telecom Notice of Consultation CRTC 2017-112 on April 25, 2017 to “examine matters related to the establishment of the broadband funding regime”. The CRTC is looking for inputs regarding both the governance, evaluation criteria and functioning of this new regime as well as which organizations would be eligible to receive funds. Comments…