Page 108 - SAMENA Trends - October 2019

REGULATORY & POLICY UPDATES SAMENA TRENDS

Ofcom Updates Proposals for Spectrum Auction in 2020

The regulator’s new plans bring the Shared up to £500 million in addition to offset • 120MHz of spectrum in 3.6-3.8GHz
Rural Network, proposed by the UK’s the cost providing infrastructure to the band, which “are part of the primary
mobile operators last week, a step closer. hardest to reach places. The operators band for 5G and are capable of carrying
Ofcom says the released airwaves will help also insisted that Ofcom dropped its lots of data-hungry connections in
improve coverage, boost network capacity proposed 5G coverage obligations in return concentrated areas. All four of the
and support the rollout of 5G. The update for discounted prices in the upcoming biggest mobile companies have
is to the auction rules Ofcom proposed in spectrum auction, which Ofcom has now launched 5G this year, and releasing
December 2018, which would have given agreed to do. It said in a statement, “This is these airwaves will help increase the
operators a discount at the auction in return because, through the companies working capacity and quality of mobile data
for a commitment to increase coverage together, the agreement will achieve higher services”.
in rural areas. Since then the four mobile coverage than the requirements we could Ofcom plans to use a format known as
network operators – BT/EE, O2, Three have set through an auction”. Now the ‘simultaneous multiple round ascending’
and Vodafone – proposed an alternative auction, to be held next year, will offer for the auction, as it did in the 2018
plan to Ofcom and the government for a spectrum in two frequency bands: spectrum auction, which involves two
Shared Rural Network that would deliver • 80MHz of spectrum in the 700MHz stages:
good quality 4G coverage to at least 92% band which are suitable for indoor and • Principal stage in which companies
of the UK over six years. Last week the outdoor coverage across very wide first bid for airwaves in separate ‘lots’
government announced it was in favor of areas, including rural ones. These to determine how much spectrum each
their target, which they would fund jointly airwaves will also boost the capacity of company wins.
so long as the government committed today’s mobile networks. • Assignment stage, in which there is
a round of bidding to determine the
specific frequencies that winning
bidders will be allocated.
Winners of 3.6-3.8GHz spectrum will have
an opportunity within the assignment
stage to negotiate their placements
within the band among themselves.
Ofcom claims this will make it more
straightforward for bidders to join together
the new spectrum they win with their
existing holdings, and potentially reduce
the level of ‘fragmentation’ in the wider
3.4-3.8GHz band. The regulator has asked
for responses to the new proposals by 9
December, and plans to publish its final
decisions in early 2020, before starting the
auction in the spring.

Russian Government Supports Capping Foreign Ownership of IT Companies

at Just Under 50%

The Russian government supports a draft the legal acts disclosure, said the criteria
law to limit foreign ownership of major of significant informational resources still
national IT companies to 50 percent minus has to be defined. The proposal has drawn
one share, according to a parliamentary critics from several sides, including from
website, Reuters reported. Initial proposals the companies themselves. Critics say
had seen ownership capped at 20 percent. Russian authorities are looking to tighten
Under the draft law, which if approved would control of the internet, threatening to
go into effect from 1 January, companies stifle individual and corporate freedom.
not in compliance would not be allowed But the Kremlin says it is trying to protect
to promote themselves or others within the integrity of the internet’s domestic
Russia. The government letter, dated 18 segment.
October and published on the website for
108 OCTOBER 2019