Strategic Spectrum Review
Developing a spectrum strategy which optimises existing spectrum assets and identifies future spectrum needs is critical to success in the wireless industry.

Coleago Strategic Spectrum Review identifies opportunities for optimising existing spectrum holdings and predicts future spectrum requirements to ensure that operators have a robust spectrum, technology and regulatory engagement strategy.
The mobile industry has been constantly asked to invest in new spectrum over the last 35 years. A multitude of new frequencies have been assigned since the original awards in the late 80s and early 90s.
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Contact us to receive a detailed description of Coleago’s strategic spectrum review methodology.
Get in touchToday mobile operators can hold a wide and varied portfolio of spectrum assets. Unfortunately, the portfolios typically consist of a badly fitting jigsaw of fragmented blocks arising from the piecemeal award of spectrum and historical spectrum policies.
Existing spectrum allocations often cater to legacy technologies like 2G and 3G. However, with the persistent relevance of 4G in developing markets and the burgeoning dominance of 5G in developed ones, the original band plans and assignments are no longer efficient. The evolving landscape demands wide, contiguous blocks of spectrum to fully leverage the capabilities of modern technologies.
At Coleago, we recognise the imperative for mobile operators to adapt to these shifting paradigms. Our Strategic Spectrum Review offers a comprehensive assessment of existing spectrum holdings and identifies opportunities for optimisation. Through swaps, trades, and potential acquisitions, we aim to enhance spectral efficiency, benefiting operators and regulators alike. Our review is also forward looking and identifies what additional spectrum is required and when and in what quantities. We also consider the regulatory environment relating to spectrum and benchmark the historic costs of spectrum assignments.
Scope of Activities
- An industry-wide review of existing spectrum holdings to identify opportunities for swaps, trades and potential acquisitions to optimise the spectral efficiency of existing spectrum assignments.
- A review of the current band plan and national radio frequency plan to identify opportunities for replanning existing bands and to identify the potential for future spectrum releases.
- Passive Intermodulation (PIM) risk analysis of existing and potential future spectrum assignments.
- A modelling exercise that forecasts future customer traffic and site growth for the next 15 years.
- We combine our review of the national radio frequency band plan with our traffic and site growth projections to identify which spectrum bands, in which quantities and when would be needed to alleviate the need for un-economic site build.
In addition, the review looks at the cost of spectrum:
- Where possible, we compare the price paid by the operator for spectrum with auction benchmarks to determine whether the market is a high or low spectrum cost market.
- We also calculate the total cost of spectrum ownership, taking account of upfront fees and annual spectrum usage fees, and express this as a proportion of revenue to compare total spectrum costs across the different markets.
- The cost of future spectrum needs based on adjusted spectrum auction benchmark prices.
Finally, we compare the regulatory regime with best practice across a range of topics related to spectrum which include the renewals process, new spectrum assignment, technology and service neutrality, swaps and trading, active network sharing, spectrum sharing and a future spectrum roadmap. Based on the analysis we provide recommendations for priorities in terms of a regulatory engagement strategy.
Why Choose Coleago?
What sets us apart?
- Experience-based approach: Our team members bring a minimum of 20 years of experience, much of it at CxO level, ensuring that our strategies are rooted in real-world knowledge and insights.
- Deep understanding of telecoms networks: With a profound understanding of telecoms networks, we provide insights and solutions tailored to the industry’s unique challenges.
- Practical solutions: We ensure that our recommendations are realistic and can be executed with confidence.
Coleago’s Strategic Spectrum Review is an essential tool for mobile operators to manage spectrum-related risks, optimise existing assets, and prepare for future requirements.
Benefits
Here are just some of the ways that our clients can benefit from our strategic spectrum review service.
Optimise Existing Spectrum Assets
Efficiency gains of up to 30% can be realised through optimising existing spectrum assets through swaps, trades and band replanning which reduces the reliance on the costly acquisition of new spectrum.
Minimise Capital Expenditure
Identifying and planning for future spectrum needs reduces the need for additional capacity site build and capital expenditure and delivers increased cash flow generation.
Improved Regulatory Environment
A regulatory engagement strategy can lead to changes in the regulatory environment which support the more efficient use of spectrum and at lower cost.
Reference Projects
Multi-country African study: Coleago recently concluded a Strategic Spectrum Review across more than a dozen African markets. The key findings were:
- Existing spectrum assignments are inefficient and potential gains in efficiency range from 5 to 30%.
- Data traffic growth will continue at 20% CAGR for the next 15 years.
- Most mobile operators will need to double their spectrum holdings in the next 3 to 5 years.
- Most regulators are not well prepared to release sufficient spectrum in a timely manner.
- Spectrum trading, swaps and the renewals process is an opportunity to optimise existing spectrum holdings.
- The cost of spectrum in the markets studied is generally reasonable with some exceptions.
Our people

Graham Friend
Managing DirectorGraham Friend is the co-founder and Managing Director of Coleago, where he focuses on strategic business planning, valuation, auction bidding strategy and regulatory issues.

Ken Pearson
Managing ConsultantKen Pearson is a seasoned advisor with over three decades of experience of guiding telecommunications regulators and mobile network operators worldwide.

David Conn
Managing ConsultantDavid is a senior finance professional with over two decades of experience in the telecoms sector. He is a specialist in business planning, forecasting, financial modelling and valuation in support of spectrum valuation and strategy projects.
Our clients
MTN
Africa’s largest mobile network operator with 272 million customers in 19 markets across Africa and the Middle East.
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Spectrum Valuation and Pricing
Spectrum valuation, spectrum auction benchmarking, spectrum pricing and spectrum auction reserve prices.

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Coleago has worked extensively with a wide range of mobile operators to help them achieve their auction objectives whilst minimising their exposure to risk.

Telecoms Regulation
Coleago understands the strategic aspects of telecoms regulation and the long-term impact on the business and a country’s economy.

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Coleago’s approach to strategic business planning is founded on a deep understanding of network economics and underpinned by rigorous analysis and network modelling

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Coleago’s transaction services focus on commercial and technical due diligences for telecom businesses and investors as well as information memoranda for sellers.

Training and Management Development for Telecoms Companies
At Coleago, we specialise in leveraging our unparalleled insight and expertise in telecoms to provide organisations and telecoms professionals with the knowledge and skills needed to thrive in the rapidly evolving industry landscape.