The Australian Communications and Media Authority has opened bidding in an auction to sell spectrum in bands that remain unallocated in the 1800 MHz band, and the 2 GHz, 2.3 GHz and 3.4 GHz bands.
ACMA chair Nerida O’Loughlin says it’s anticipated the spectrum will be used for mobile or fixed wireless broadband services, with the majority of lots available in regional areas.
“But we have also built flexibility into the technical frameworks for each band, allowing for other uses as well,” O’Loughlin says.
The ACMA expects spectrum on offer will be mainly used for:
1800 MHz – Mobile broadband services using LTE technology
2 GHz – 4G LTE or potentially 5G technologies
2.3 GHz – Wireless broadband services
3.4 GHz – Time Division Duplex mobile broadband services.
The spectrum auction is being conducted under the Simple Clock Auction methodology with software developed by international online auction experts Power Auctions.