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Four companies secure spectrum, with Optus and Telstra spending the most.
Australia on Friday announced that its auction of 1800-MHz spectrum has drawn to a close, more than two months after it began, raising a total of A$543.5 million.
Four bidders emerged victorious from the sale, with Optus Mobile spending the most, closely followed by incumbent Telstra; they were the only companies to secure spectrum in all regions of the country.
Optus’ total bill came in at A$196 million for 55 5-MHz blocks of paired spectrum, the Australian Communications and Media Authority (ACMA) announced.
Telstra also walked away with 55 5-MHz blocks and two 2.5-MHz blocks at a cost of A$191 million, the ACMA said.
The other two spectrum winners were TPG Internet, which secured 18 5-MHz blocks for A$88 million, and Vodafone, which committed A$68 million for 11 5-MHz blocks.
Six blocks remained unsold.
"There was very strong competition among all bidders, with the auction running over 29 working days between November 2015 and February 2016," said ACMA chairman Chris Chapman. "Strong bidding resulted in the majority of lots on offer being sold for an amount that exceeded our expectations."
Chapman noted that the 1800-MHz band is already in use in Australia’s major cities for the provision of 4G services.
"With previously unallocated 1800-MHz spectrum in regional areas now in the hands of mobile broadband service providers, the auction should enable improvements to the availability and performance of 4G telecommunications services right across regional Australia," he said.
In a separate statement, Telstra said the newly acquired spectrum would help it deliver greater capacity and faster speeds to meet growing demand, particularly in regional areas.
"As a result of the auction, we’ll be at least doubling the amount of spectrum in the 1800-MHz band that we can use to provide 4G services in these areas," said Telstra CEO Andy Penn. "In fact, in some regions we will more than triple the amount available."
The telco noted that its new spectrum licences will come into force in May next year and will have an 11-year duration.
