After a COVID-19 hiatus, regulators have resumed the business of awarding spectrum. Our newly updated PolicyTracker Spectrum Database (PSD) now takes into account key 5G awards in a further 10 countries, as well as several changes to assignments for other reasons. The update includes four auctions of the low-band 5G… Read more...

The use of spectrum auctions was once a black-and-white issue but is now more shades of grey. For over a decade auctions have been the predominant method of assigning spectrum because they incentivised spectrum efficiency whereas beauty contests often ended in legal challenges. But in many countries policy priorities have… Read more...

Recent news about spectrum auctions has focussed on cancellations due to the COVID-19 crisis: but underlying this there are bigger issues explored in our new Spectrum Auctions Dossier.  In the past 20 years auctions have become the go-to means of assigning spectrum, but they are being questioned as never before.… Read more...

The new iteration of the PolicyTracker Spectrum Database (PSD) takes into account over 10,000 MHz of new or changed national spectrum assignments. The COVID-19 pandemic may have put several imminent spectrum auctions on ice, but the first three months of 2020 had already seen an enormous amount of spectrum put… Read more...

As well as giving a solid grounding in the technical, economic and legal issues, this April our signature course, Understanding Modern Spectrum Management, takes a deeper look at spectrum auctions. Concern that they may hinder investment has led France to re-refocus its assignment policy on network coverage. At the forefront of… Read more...

At PolicyTracker we regularly publish research reports on current spectrum topics. But this autumn, we are also revisiting core tenets of spectrum management in a six-section "Spectrum 101". This week we are looking at spectrum assignments; specifically the rise and partial fall of spectrum auctions. Our take is that the 1990s and… Read more...

For the past decade auctions have been the default assignment mechanism for mobile licences but there is growing concern about their use. Can they deliver wide high speed mobile coverage with its associated economic benefits? Some administrations think not: France is allowing operators to avoid auctions if they improve coverage… Read more...

The latest update of the PolicyTracker Spectrum Database shows 5G assignments picking up in both mmWave and mid-band frequencies. Despite attention on the German C-band auction, the quarter's most expensive spectrum was acquired elsewhere. Read more...

Making the best use of the airwaves requires a knowledge of several disciplines: from engineering to law and from economics to technology trends. These are all covered in our signature course, Understanding Modern Spectrum Management, held at Oxford University from 16-19 September. The trainers include internationally recognised experts, such as the… Read more...

Download the coverage obligations white paper Mobile coverage obligations are an increasingly important part of spectrum auctions and national connectivity strategies. This reflects the growing economic importance of mobile broadband and the patchy success of previous initiatives. In many developed nations there are no reliable voice and data services in… Read more...