Australian operators Optus and Telstra have won spectrum in the Australian Communications and Media Authority’s latest spectrum auction. All 16 lots available were allocated, the ACMA said. The government raised a total revenue of AUD 2.09 billion, equivalent to AUD 1.21/MHz/pop, from this spectrum auction.
Optus won 8 lots of spectrum at auction for AUD 1.12 billion, and acquired a total of 12 lots of spectrum for AUD 1.47 billion. Two set-aside lots were allocated to Optus for a pre‑determined price, and two lots of 1 MHz were automatically allocated also to Optus as the winner of the 900 MHz lower products. Telstra won 4 lots of spectrum for AUD 615.6 million.
According to ACMA acting chair Creina Chapman, this spectrum has been designed to support the deployment of 4G and 5G networks across Australia.
Licences won at auction will come into force on 1 July 2024, for a 20-year term ending in 2044. Winning bidders can obtain early access to the spectrum under special circumstances before licences commence, the ACMA also said.
This auction follows the 26 GHz band mmWave spectrum auction held in April 2021.
Optus to use 900 MHz spectrum to boost 5G coverage
Optus separately announced that the newly-acquired 900 MHz spectrum will help it boost its 5G coverage nationwide. Optus won 2 x 25 MHz of 900 MHz spectrum nation-wide for a total of AUD 1.47 billion.
Telstra targets 5G for 95% of Australia’s population by 2025
Telstra reports it has invested “billions of dollars” in its network to maximise the use of its spectrum holdings. “Over the 7 years to the end of FY22, we will have invested AUD 11 billion in our mobile network nationally, with AUD 4 billion of this invested in our regional mobile network”, the company said.
Telstra also reports is has already rolled out 5G to 75 percent of the population and this newly-acquired spectrum will help it meet the commitment in its T25 strategy to provide 5G coverage to 95 percent of the population and further boost regional connectivity with at least another 100,000 square kilometres of new mobile coverage by June 2025.
