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Australian incumbent ruled out after comms minister Mitch Fifield imposes caps on spectrum holdings.
Telstra has been barred from bidding in Australia’s next 700-MHz spectrum auction, after the government imposed restrictions on the volume of airwaves any single player can hold.
When Australia held its first 700-MHz 4G auction in 2013, Telstra and Optus won 2×20 MHz and 2×10 MHz of frequencies respectively. 2×15 MHz was left unsold.
The government is now trying again to sell the remaining spectrum.
Acting on advice from the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC), Communications Minister Mitch Fifield last week directed the Australian Communications and Media Authority (ACMA) to restrict the amount of 700-MHz spectrum that any single operator can own to 2×20 MHz, making Telstra ineligible for the auction.
The rules ensure that "the auction promotes competition and that the spectrum is allocated in the long-term interests of end users," said a statement from the Department of Communications and the Arts.
The government has set a reserve price of A$1.25 (€0.87) per MHz per head of population, which works out at approximately A$867 million (€796 million) based on 2013 census data.
In 2013’s auction, Vodafone Australia was conspicuous by its absence. A year ahead of the auction, then-CEO Bill Morrow indicated that his company wanted to reuse its 1800-MHz spectrum for its 4G rollout instead.
With ever greater demand for bandwidth, and with Telstra not in the running, Vodafone Australia – now led by Iñaki Berroeta – might look again at taking part.
Under the auction rules, successful bidders will be allowed to pay in instalments. If any spectrum is left on the block, a subsequent allocation process – open to all-comers regardless of their existing frequency allocation – will take place.
"This will help ensure that valuable spectrum is not left unsold," the government said.
The ACMA is due to invite prospective bidders to apply for the auction in January 2017.
