Spectrum Pricing March 2022 – Quarterly update
Up to the end of February 2022
Counting only those auctions and assignments for which GSA has fee data, 2021 saw spectrum auctions and assignments reach a total of $140.1 billion, a huge increase on the 2020 value of $37.7 billion.
Pricing data
Pricing data supplied in this document only includes completed auctions for which GSA has all the prerequisite data to calculate a price per MHz of bandwidth per population for an individual band. To clarify, data is not included where GSA does not have information regarding price, bandwidth or population (this can be the case for regional assignments) or only has total information for multiple bands auctioned together.
C-Band auction and assignment update
GSA has been tracking the assignment and auction of C-band spectrum in its various reports. Since the end of 2015, we have identified 53 countries and territories that have auctioned, assigned or renewed licences for C-band spectrum with the intention of opening up the frequency range for mobile broadband and 5G use. Since our last update in November 2021, Nigeria and the French territory of Reunion. In addition, the USA has concluded Auction 110 of 3.45 GHz to 3.55 GHz spectrum, with the results announced in January 2022.
The prices paid for the C-band spectrum have varied widely. The amount operators are prepared to spend depends on the degree of competition, the amount of suitable spectrum they already hold, the length of licence available, the extent of the coverage and performance requirements that are attached to the licence and the economic value of (that is, the amount of money spent by) each mobile end user in the country or territory concerned. Figure 2 shows the prices paid for C-band spectrum in 5G-relevant auctions since 2015, where data is available.
Of the auctions in 2021 that GSA has fee data for, only the US and Norwegian auctions achieved a higher than recent average price. The US auction of 3.7 GHz-to-3.98 GHz spectrum in 2021 continues to hold its record high price for C-band spectrum of $0.875/MHz/pop, significantly higher than the recent average price of $0.127/MHz/pop. A subsequent US auction of 3.45 GHz-to-3.55 GHz spectrum resulted in an above-average price of $0.68/MHz/pop, with over 70% of licences won by AT&T and Weminuche LLC. Nigeria’s C-band auction resulted in $0.013/MHz/pop, which is below average.
Spectrum Pricing March 2022 – Quarterly update
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