Australia Expects to Raise A$3 Billion From Telstra, Optus Spectrum Sales

Australia expects to get about A$3 billion ($3.2 billion) in the next four years from the renewal of mobile phone spectrum to providers including Telstra, Optus and Vodafone Group. Operators in the highest-priced part of the spectrum will pay A$1.23 a megahertz per person in a given area for 15-year permits, the office of Communications Minister Stephen Conroy said.

The price for services in the 800 megahertz band, used to provide smartphone data, is 16 percent less than suggested in a draft decision last year. Access to prime mobile airwaves is highly valued by phone companies as consumers switch to wireless connections and drop fixed-line services. Spectrum that allows companies to run lucrative services such as smartphone data sells for several hundred times the value of lower-ranking bandwidth. The price expected by Australia’s government compares with recent auctions of the 800 megahertz band which raised 2.96 billion euros ($3.93 billion) in Italy, 3.57 billion euros in Germany, and 2.64 billion euros in France. Those countries have three to four times Australia’s population of 22.8 million.