This is an interactive two day workshop offering participants a unique opportunity to learn about and use a number of different auction formats, and explore the impact of design decisions on auction outcomes and bidder behaviour. A series of recent real-world examples will be will be used as case studies, and participants will use the online software to take part in a series of mock auctions.

Session topics 

Trainers: 

Dennis Ward, DJ Consulting

From the spring of 2000 until 2010, Dennis Ward was the Senior Economist and Auctioneer in Industry Canada’s spectrum management programme with primary responsibility for advising on domestic auction theory, design and implementation. Four SMRA auctions, 2 sealed bid and one “odds and ends” auction were run during that period raising about $6B in revenue. 

Monitoring foreign auctions (eg European UMTS, FCC PCS and 700 MHz, Germany’s LTE auction) as well as studying innovative approaches (eg Ofcom’s Clock Combo and Sweden’s SMRA with switching rules) were other areas of significant interest. Analytic tools such as financial modelling, opportunity cost and optimal deprival were also employed in an attempt to determine appropriate market values for spectrum.

Martin Sims, PolicyTracker

Martin Sims is a journalist and academic who specialises in communications policy issues. He set up PolicyTracker, the spectrum policy newsletter and has published articles on many facets of the subject. His work has been published in academic journals and books and he is a former editor of Intermedia, the policy journal of the International Institute of Communications. As a journalist he was a news editor in independent radio then worked for BBC network news. He has an honours degree and a masters degree in communication studies and until recently lectured at the University of East London.