Sweden Consults on Auction of 800Mhz Radio Spectrum

­Sweden's telecoms regulator, the PTS has issued a request for views on future use of the 800 MHz radio spectrum and the market's interest in licenses in the band. The Swedish government decided in 2007 that the band should be used for other services than terrestrial broadcast television. The PTS says that it wishes to make the frequencies available to the market as soon as possible.

The 800 MHz band is situated relatively low in the radio frequency spectrum and has good propagation characteristics, which makes it suitable for indoor coverage and wide area coverage. The band is attractive for many kinds of services, including wireless broadband and mobile telephony. In recent years, the demand for wireless broadband has grown strongly in Sweden, leading to an increased interest in spectrum.

PTS therefore surveys the market's interest in licenses in the 800 MHz band. If the demand for spectrum exceeds availability, licenses will be assigned through an auction. PTS proposes that an open invitation to the auction will be published before the summer of 2010, and that the assignment will take place during the autumn of 2010.

The PTS proposals in brief:

• The licenses should be as technology and service neutral as possible
• FDD band plan comprising 2x30 MHz
• National licenses
• License duration of 15 years
• Spectrum cap of 2x20 MHz, i.e. no bidder may be assigned more than 2x20 MHz of spectrum
• Regulations to prevent closely related parties to participate in the auction simultaneously (in particular mobile operators and their joint subsidiaries for network operation)
• The 800 MHz band is suitable for wide area coverage in sparsely populated areas. PTS is considering license conditions that require license holders to provide coverage in areas where residents currently lack basic infrastructure for broadband access.

PTS welcomes expressions of interest and views on the proposals. All submissions shall have reached PTS on 30 October 2009.

On the web: PTS Consultation Papers

Posted to the site on 29th September 2009