Press Release

OFTA Proposes Public Auctioning of Frequency Spectrum in the 850 MHz, 900 MHz and 2 GHz Bands

The Office of the Telecommunications Authority ("OFTA") today (20 November 2009) issued a consultation paper to solicit public views on the proposed auction of the frequency spectrum in the 850 MHz, 900 MHz and 2 GHz bands, and invited expression of interest on the said frequency spectrum from interested parties.  

"The growth of mobile data usage over the past two years has been remarkable. In August this year, statistics showed that mobile data usage was 13 times over the same period in 2007. With a view to meeting the need of additional frequency spectrum for capacity expansion and enabling further service development, the Government has proposed to release a total of 29.7 MHz frequencies for bidding in an open auction," a spokesperson of OFTA said.

Under the proposal, one frequency block of 5 MHz x 2 in the 850 MHz band, one frequency block of 5 MHz x 2 in the 900 MHz band, and two frequency blocks of 4.8 MHz and 4.9 MHz in the 2 GHz band will be made available.  No spectrum cap is contemplated and bidders taking part in the auction may bid for one to all four frequency blocks. The proposed frequency blocks will be subject to a one-off spectrum utilisation fee, the exact amount of which will be determined by the auction.

"In line with the established technology neutral policy, we will not mandate any specific technology to be adopted for provision of services with the use of any of the available frequency blocks so long as the technology to be used conforms to recognized open standards and is compatible with our frequency band plan. We also propose to open the bidding to all interested parties, including new entrants and incumbents. We believe these arrangements will be conducive to the deployment of advanced technology and new and innovative services in Hong Kong," continued the spokesperson.

"With a view to gauging the level of commercial interest in the proposed four frequency blocks, OFTA also invites interested parties to submit their expression of interest in bidding for the frequency blocks concerned. We welcome any views and comments," the spokesperson concluded.

Interested parties are invited to submit comments on or before 20 January 2010. Parties who are interested in operating public mobile services using the frequency spectrum concerned are also invited to express their intention to OFTA on or before the same deadline. The consultation paper and expression of interest may be downloaded from the following hyperlinks at OFTA’s website:

Consultation Paper:

http://www.ofta.gov.hk/en/report-paper-guide/paper/consultation/cp20091120.pdf

Expression of Interest:

http://www.ofta.gov.hk/en/report-paper-guide/paper/consultation/cp20091120_eoi.pdf

Background

According to the spectrum release plan, frequency spectrum of 832.5 - 837.5 MHz paired with 877.5 - 882.5 MHz in the 850MHz band, 885 - 890 MHz paired with 930 - 935 MHz in the 900 MHz band, and 2010 - 2019.7 MHz in the 2 GHz band are available for assignment. The Telecommunications Authority ("TA") put forward the proposal to make available the said frequency spectrum for auction and invited expression of interest from the interested parties to gauge the level of commercial interest. The TA will give due regard to the submissions to the consultation and expressions of interest before making a decision on the way forward.

Office of the Telecommunications Authority
20 November 2009