The Norwegian Post and Telecommunications Authority (NPT) is gathering international attention as the first national regulatory authority to hold the auction of a spectrum license in the 10 GHz band on a commercial website.
NPT arranged previous auctions itself. What is new this time is that NPT has chosen to use the commercial website QXL as auction venue.
To anyone’s knowledge, no regulatory authority has ever used commercial players for the sale of licences of this kind. The auction will be held from 25 to 27 May of this year.
Simpler and more transparent “Our hope is that this Internet auction will be perceived as simpler and more transparent and yield a more correct price than the so-called “closed-envelope auctions” that we have used in the past,” says Geir Jan Sundal, Director of the Frequency Management Department at NPT.
NPT has negotiated an agreement with the website that compared with ordinary Internet auctions has resulted in certain modifications and additional requirements. The costs of holding the auction in this way are substantially lower than if a bespoke system were to have been developed.
“Even so, this form of auction is reserved only for minor auctions at which a small number of objects are offered. If our experience this time is positive, we will certainly do it again when the opportunity arises,” says Sundal.
Natural resource NPT is authorised by the Electronic Communications Act with related regulations to manage Norwegian spectrum resources. As a natural resource, spectrum is limited, and NPT’s management includes planning, awarding and follow-up of licences.
The auction is being held to award frequencies in the 10290 - 10320 MHz and 10640 – 10670 MHz bands.
“The entire amount spectrum will be auctioned off as one lot. The spectrum licence will be awarded at an auction at which only preregistered bidders may bid,” Sundal continues.
Spectrum licence A spectrum licence entitles the holder to transmit radio waves within a given frequency block. The bidder with the highest bid wins and must pay for the bid in its entirety.
The spectrum licence will cover terrestrial radio services on Norwegian land territory with the exception of Svalbard, Jan Mayen and Norwegian dependencies. It will be valid until 31 December 2020.
The licence will be tradable, and all forms of transfer such as leasing or regulated sale will be permitted.
“The spectrum licence is technology-neutral. This means that the licence holder is free to choose which technology will be used,” Sundal concludes.
Auction rules Auction rules and auction format may be found here. Documents for registration as a bidder may also be found in the auction rules. Please note that the deadline for registering is 15:00 CET on 19 May 2010.
Questions Please direct all questions regarding the auction to 10GHz.auksjon@npt.no. Questions may be asked in English or Norwegian. A list of FAQs will be published in English. All who wish to receive e-mails with current information on the auction may send an e-mail to 10GHz.auksjon@npt.no to be entered on our distribution list.
The Norwegian Post and Telecommunications Authority (NPT) is gathering international attention as the first national regulatory authority to hold the auction of a spectrum