Overview

The spectrum data comes from the PolicyTracker Spectrum Database (PSD) and the other information comes from recognised international sources, such as the World Bank.

The Data Explorer gives a near-instant statistical overview but may not answer more specific research questions. However, it does give an indication of what data is available from PolicyTracker and elsewhere as well as how this can be adapted and compared.

PolicyTracker’s database contains global listings of the licenses held by operators, along with information about duration, prices paid and coverage requirements. The PSD does not include local licenses, such as those used for campus networks but it does include regional licenses which cover a substantial proportion of a country.

This means that the database is ideally suited to providing a spectrum usage overview in countries with national licenses. However, for India, the US and Australia, we have normalised spectrum licences by population to make the data more useful.

Sourcing

All data on spectrum assignments and award prices in mobile bands comes from the PSD, principally the data on Assignments and MHz/pop. (These are separate tabs in the Google and Excel versions).

The data has not been adjusted for factors such as inflation or present value but pricing data is converted to USD or USD/MHz/pop to facilitate international comparisons. This uses the exchange rate at the time of the award.

On the Country Overview page, data on assignments in the United States is supplemented with the latest Communications Marketplace Report published by the US regulator, the Federal Communications Commission (FCC).

Methodology for specific pages

Page 1: Country overview

Individual country overview of spectrum assigned to mobile network operators (MNOs).

General notes

• This page only displays licences which are active. Expired licences are excluded.
• Licence holders which do not provide a public service are also excluded.
• Only spectrum licences that cover more than 80% of a country’s population are included to avoid double counting.
• Definitions used to calculate low, mid and high band holdings:
  • Low band: Spectrum up to 1 GHz.
  • Mid band: Spectrum between 1–7.125 GHz
  • High band: Spectrum above 7.125 GHz

Data on regional countries (e.g. USA, Australia, and India)

• For countries that licence spectrum on a regional basis, we have calculated population-weighted average spectrum assets.
• We use population-adjusted metrics to avoid double-counting:
  • E.g. if an operator owns 100 MHz in two cities, this would normally appear as 200 MHz total giving an overinflated number of MHz.
  • When adjusted for population covered by each licence, this gives a more accurate picture of national spectrum assets, which can be compared to countries where spectrum licences are national.
• Broadly speaking this works as follows:
  • Each spectrum licence is multiplied by the population of the area it covers. (e.g. 100 MHz * 56,000 people for a 100 MHz licence that covers a small town)
  • This process is repeated for all licences, using public census data for population size. 
  • In the end, these figures are summed up and divided by the country’s total population.
  • This is a commonly accepted method of calculating population-weighted average megahertz, and is also used by the US regulator, the Federal Communications Commission (FCC).
• Because of this additional calculation for regional countries, data will appear differently to how it does in our base PolicyTracker Spectrum Database (PSD) product. On the PSD, each individual licence is tracked as this allows us to keep track of spectrum pricing.
• For regional countries, data in the final table ‘All licences’ located at the bottom of our page will only show limited information, as licence duration, start and end dates are not systematically tracked for population-adjusted average megahertz.

Page 2: Band Pricing

Individual overview of average band pricing sorted by country and assignment.

General notes

• All data displayed is in US Dollar (USD).
• This page only includes licences where pricing information is available.
• It excludes award procedures where spectrum was sold as a ‘package’ and the price of each individual band is unknown.
• Total price paid shows how much was paid for a given band in an award, not the amount paid for individual licences. These have not been adjusted for inflation or other factors. They are shown in USD and calculated using exchange rates at the time of the auction.

Calculating USD/MHz/Pop

• To calculate USD/MHz/Pop, each licence’s price is weighted by both the amount of MHz assigned and the population coverage of that licence. This ensures that larger licences—covering broader areas with more spectrum—have a proportionally greater impact on the average price than smaller, localised licences.
• By using this weighted approach, auction results remain comparable across national and regional awards, preventing distortions caused by unusually large or small spectrum blocks.

Price categorisation

• The final column in the full award table at the bottom of the page shows whether a certain band was awarded for below average, average, or above average price.
• We define “Average” as any price that falls within 25% of the typical variation (known as 0.25 standard deviations) above or below the average.
• If a price falls outside that band—either lower or higher—it is labeled “Below Average” or “Above Average,” respectively.

Page 3: Band Overview

Individual overview of band assignment trends.

General notes

• This page data from all licences, including expired licences and those which are not yet active.

Data on regional countries (e.g. USA, Australia, and India)

• For these countries, the total number of licences is lower than in reality. This is because these numbers are normalised by population to appear as single ‘national licences’ (i.e. one licence for each MNO in each band).
• In reality, many US MNOs have hundreds of licences covering hundreds of different geographical areas. For full licence information, refer to the full PSD product.