New research note on cashless auctions

Spectrum auctions have been used to assign spectrum for over 30 years. As our spectrum auction dossier shows, there are a variety of auction designs, which regulators adapt according to their policy goals.

A regulator has to make a range of decisions when designing and implementing a spectrum auction. Geoffrey Myers, Visiting Professor in Practice at the LSE, identified 17 categories in his recent book on spectrum auctions. Ultimately, each design has both strengths and weaknesses.

In a new research note, which has just been added to our spectrum auctions dossier, we examine the concept of cashless auctions. This is a new branch in auction design, though there are some similarities with beauty contests.

The note describes features that could be considered to contribute to a “cashless” auction and the policy goals that a regulator choosing this design may seek to address. It also outlines the key challenges regulators must consider when designing a cashless auction.

The updated Spectrum Auctions Dossier, including the new research note on cashless auctions, is available to Spectrum Research Service subscribers here.