New iteration of PolicyTracker Spectrum Database tracks 11 auctions across six bands. The last three months included two potentially expensive spectrum auctions. Operators in one of these countries, Pakistan, largely shunned the award; but Canadian operators ended up paying record prices. These auction results are reported in the 2021 Q3… Read more...

A common cliche is that history repeats itself. Radio spectrum, of course, is no exception. A decade ago the digitisation of terrestrial television created a digital dividend: more low-band spectrum available for mobile broadband, particularly for emerging 4G services. This prompted a wave of 800 MHz band auctions. Many countries,… Read more...

The C-Band (3.3 - 4.2 GHz) is almost universally acknowledged as the major mid-band 5G frequency. But despite this agreement, there are infinite shades of difference regarding how, and how much of the spectrum is made available. Some countries award the spectrum to mobile operators on a nationwide basis, but… Read more...

The C-Band, comprising frequencies around 3.5 GHz, are widely considered crucial for 5G networks. Canada's nationwide operators, only able to bid on a limited portion of the 3450 - 3650 MHz, competed aggressively this Summer and ended up paying an average of $2.61/MHz/POP, a new record for the band. The… Read more...

Innovation often occurs in different places at roughly the same time. Electromagnetic induction, for example, was discovered in both Britain and the US independently in the early 19th century. Frequency-hopping spread spectrum technology was also developed separately by several engineers in the first half of the 20th century, including Austrian-born… Read more...

Auctions may have become the default way to assign spectrum, but the last quarter saw just as many beauty contests. A total of 11,076 MHz of changed or new entries were included in the latest update to the PolicyTracker Spectrum Database (PSD), including an equal number of beauty contests and auctions.… Read more...

This week the FCC announced its plan to publish a Public Notice about implementing emission limits agreed at WRC-19 with respect to licences across the 24.25 - 25.25 GHz range. The spectrum was auctioned in Spring 2019, but later that year the World Radiocommunication Conference established much stricter limits than… Read more...

The latest PolicyTracker Spectrum Database quarterly update includes a spectrum auction that raised more money than any other. The wave of expensive 3G auctions in Europe at the height of the dotcom boom has become the stuff of legend in spectrum policy circles. Germany’s 2000 auction of the 2.1 GHz… Read more...

The beauty of spectrum auctions is that they force operators to put their money where their mouth is. Operators may be able to make a compelling case of why they should be assigned spectrum, and another company should be deprived of that spectrum, but auctions can "separate the wheat from… Read more...

Many think of cold, snow-covered Finland and warm, sunny Italy as very different countries. Perhaps it is not surprising that their spectrum auctions have produced very different outcomes. Over the years, the home of Nokia has gained a reputation for carrying out affordable and exemplary spectrum assignments. When Finnish incumbent… Read more...