HK plans to auction four 3G mobile spectrum in Sep

date: July 18, 2001 - source: HK Office of the Telecommunications Authority

The HK Government today set a reserve price for its 3G aution at the at five percent of network turnover, subject to an annual minimum payment of HK$50 million for each of the first five years, and rising annual payments from year six onwards during the 15-year licence period.

It plans to offer four 3G licenses and will require bidders to make a deposit of HK$250 million.

"We have introduced a royalty-based payment scheme that is intended to minimize the financial burden on operators. The royalty scheme is underpinned by a schedule of minimum payments, which minimise government's credit risk but allow it to share the upside of the 3G business," the spokesman explained, adding that under the scheme, each licensee will pay the same percentage royalty on its network turnover.

The Government has also set the reserve prices for the second and third phase auctions, i.e the mechanisms to resolve any connections between bidders in the unlikely event that they arise and to allocate specific frequency bands to the successful bidders. The reserve prices for both mechanisms have been set at HK$0, because the objective to set a reasonable minimum price for the spectrum is achieved by the reserve price for the first phase auction.

It is our aim to conduct an open, transparent and fair auction. The Government will maximise transparency of the bidding exercise without affecting the integrity of the auction. We will therefore release full information on the auction as early as possible. However, to minimise opportunities for collusion, bidders' identities will be preserved during the main bidding stage. Sufficient safeguards have been built into the auction design to ensure that the auction will be conducted fairly.

Also there will be an open network access requirement whereby 3G licensees are required to open up at least 30 per cent of their capacity for use by non-affiliated Mobile Virtual Network Operators (MVNOs) and content and service providers (CSPs).

"Bidders will have nine weeks to prepare their applications. They must submit their applications on either September 17 or 18, 2001. Our plan remains to hold the auction in September 2001 so as to enable Hong Kong consumers to enjoy 3G services as about the same time as in other advanced countries," he added.

For a more deatil report, please read: http://www.ofta.gov.hk/press_rel/2001/jul_2001.html#1

Top Sellers at our online store

1.	NEC e606 on 3
2.	Orange Nokia 7250i
3.	O2 Samsung A800
4.	NEC e808 on 3
5.	Motorola A920 on 3

last updated: January 12, 2004

Visit our online store, click here

3 phones

3G Motorola A920
Available Now! Superb full colour touch- sensitive screen with a built-in digital camera for Video Calling.
Buy now from Free

M-Profits: Making Money from 3G Services
ISBN: 0470847751

This book discusses 3G services from the view of what is needed for the service to provide value to the user, what is the value proposition for the user, how will money be made out of delivering the service, and discussions on how revenue sharing propositions might work to benefit content providers and network operators. 3G operators should take note of this highly recommended book.

buy it UK | USA

3G Books to Read!

top