Australia Announces Spectrum Cap as it Prepares for 5G Auction

Australian telcos will have their current spectrum holdings assessed to see how much additional spectrum they can purchase at the country’s forthcoming 5G auction.

Australia is set to auction spectrum in the 3.6GHz spectrum range later this year, with a limit of 60MHz for urban areas and 80GHz in regional areas expected to come into play.

“These limits account for existing spectrum holdings in the broader 3400-3700 MHz band, meaning that carriers which already have significant holdings in this band would be limited in the amount of new spectrum they could bid for, or may not be able to participate in the auction,” said Australia’s communications minister, Mitch Fifield.

Fifield said that he expected demand for spectrum to be high at the forthcoming auction, as Australian telcos look to kick start their 5G offerings early next year.

“Australians have a voracious appetite for mobile data, and our competitive telecommunications market means that Australians already enjoy some of the fastest mobile broadband speeds in the world,” he said.

“These auction limits promote competition in the telecommunications industry while ensuring this scarce spectrum is put to its highest-value use.”

Australia is set to proceed with its 5G spectrum auction in October this year. – Total Telecom