The Australian Government will make available an additional 2 x 60 MHz of spectrum in regional Australia to support mobile broadband services. A re-allocation declaration has been issued for the regional 1800 MHz band which will enable the Australian Communications and Media Authority (ACMA) to replan the spectrum to accommodate mobile broadband services under spectrum licensing arrangements. The declaration was issued following a recommendation from the ACMA. The ACMA plans to launch an auction for the spectrum in November this year.
The Government has directed the ACMA to set competition limits on the upcoming auction. The maximum amount of spectrum in the regional 1800 MHz band that can be purchased by an auction participant has been set at 2 x 25 MHz.
As part of the re-allocation process, current users will need to vacate the spectrum. It is expected that the majority of the spectrum will be freed by June 2017. The ACMA expects to enable winning bidders to deploy services earlier than this in areas where the spectrum is already vacant or becomes vacant during the re-allocation period.
