Expiring Spectrum Licences in Europe: Renewal, Re-auction, or Alternative Approaches?
As spectrum licences across Europe approach renewal, policymakers face a critical choice between automatic renewal, re-auction or alternative approaches. This presentation examines the European Commission’s proposals, the challenges of renewal pricing and why public interest should be the guiding principle in spectrum licence policy.
As the first generation of long-term mobile spectrum licences begins to expire across Europe, regulators face important decisions that will shape investment, competition and digital infrastructure for decades to come. This presentation, delivered by Coleago CEO Stefan Zehle at the 21st European Spectrum Management Conference, explores the policy choices surrounding spectrum licence renewal and argues that ensuring long-term public benefit should take precedence over maximising short-term government revenues.
A central theme of the presentation is the European Commission’s proposed Digital Networks Act, which strongly favours stability through the automatic renewal of spectrum licences, while allowing regulators flexibility to intervene where justified by public policy, competition concerns, technological change or serious licence breaches. This approach recognises that long-term investment in mobile infrastructure depends on operators having confidence that spectrum rights will continue beyond the initial licence period.
The presentation also examines one of the most contentious issues in spectrum policy: how renewal fees should be determined. While the Commission proposes that regulators consider historical auction prices, international benchmarks, spectrum opportunity cost and changes in operator revenues, these reference points often point in very different directions. As a result, significant differences in renewal pricing between European countries are likely to persist.
Drawing on international examples, the presentation argues that benchmarking is an unreliable basis for setting renewal prices. Spectrum values vary widely between countries because they reflect national policy objectives, market conditions and auction design rather than the intrinsic value of the spectrum itself. Comparisons such as those between Finland and Italy demonstrate that identical spectrum bands can command dramatically different prices, making simple international benchmarking a poor guide for future licence fees.
The Australian expiring spectrum licence process is presented as a cautionary example. Although the Australian Communications and Media Authority (ACMA) initially adopted a well-structured consultation process and concluded that licence renewal was preferable to re-auction, the subsequent use of revised benchmarking methodologies led to substantially higher proposed renewal fees. This change generated significant industry opposition and raised the prospect of legal challenge, illustrating the risks of opaque or inconsistent pricing methodologies.
The presentation concludes that public interest should be the overriding principle when determining the future of expiring spectrum licences. Because the economic and social benefits generated by mobile connectivity far exceed the revenues governments can obtain from licence fees, regulators should prioritise policies that encourage continued investment and efficient spectrum use. Coleago argues that this is best achieved through renewal rather than re-auction, nominal renewal fees, and licences of unlimited duration, subject to appropriate review and compliance mechanisms.
This presentation provides valuable insights for regulators, policymakers and mobile operators involved in shaping the next generation of spectrum policy. As Europe moves towards a more harmonised approach to spectrum management, the decisions taken on expiring licences will have far-reaching implications for investment, competition and the delivery of future mobile networks.
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