FREQUENCY SPECTRA – AUSTRALIA

Bill hikes, investment warning as telcos face $7.3bn spectrum slug

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Original article by Jack Quail
The Australian – Page: 17 : 17-Dec-25

More than 80 per cent of the spectrum liccnces held by Australian telcos are slated to expire between 2028 and 2032. The Australian Communications & Media Authority has increased its estimate of the value of the spectrum licences to $7.3bn, compared with its previous valuation of $5bn to $6.2bn. ACMA chair Nerida O’Loughlin contends that the new estimate represents a "fair price" for spectrum, which is a public asset. However, telcos have warned that any increase in the cost of spectrum licences will affect their ability to invest in network upgrades, and could result in higher prices for mobile plans.

CORPORATES
AUSTRALIAN COMMUNICATIONS AND MEDIA AUTHORITY

Broadcast spectrum buyback threatens popular TV channels

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Original article by Zoe Samios
The Age – Page: Online : 17-May-21

The federal government announced a policy in November that would see spectrum licence fees removed in exchange for the radiofrequency spectrum of television broadcasters being reduced by compressing it. The spectrum made available as a result of this compression would be sold at a higher price to companies such as telcos. Broadcasters are worried that the technology that the government plans to use to compress the spectrum will soon be outdated, and that it will reduce the quality of broadcasting and lead to fewer multi-channels.

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$850m bonanza as sale of 5G spectrum beats expectations

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Original article by Supratim Adhikari
The Australian – Page: 17 & 28 : 11-Dec-18

The federal government has raised a total of $853m from an auction of 5G spectrum, including $700m for regional spectrum. The reserve price was $185m for the 350 lots of 125MHz of spectrum on offer, and telcos paid an average price of $0.29 per megahertz per population. Telstra has paid $386m for 143 lots of spectrum and the joint venture between TPG Telecom and Vodafone has paid $263m for 131 lots. Telstra CEO Andy Penn says the telco is "very pleased" with the outcome of the auction.

CORPORATES
TELSTRA CORPORATION LIMITED – ASX TLS, TPG TELECOM LIMITED – ASX TPM, VODAFONE HUTCHISON AUSTRALIA PTY LTD, SINGTEL OPTUS PTY LTD, AUSTRALIAN COMMUNICATIONS AND MEDIA AUTHORITY, DENSE AIR, AIRSPAN NETWORKS INCORPORATED

Why Teoh paid up to snare a spot in mobile

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Original article by Max Mason
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 50 : 13-Apr-17

TPG Telecom will raise $A400m from investors to partially finance its $A1.26bn deal to acquire an 11-year licence for mobile spectrum in the 700MHz band. TPG will establish Australia’s fourth mobile phone network, which is expected to cover about 80 per cent of the nation and is likely to spark a price war in the highly competitive market. TPG estimates that it will need to gain at least 500,000 mobile customers in order to achieve break-even status on an EBITDA basis. The company already boasts 1.9 million broadband customers, who can be offered bundled services.

CORPORATES
TPG TELECOM LIMITED – ASX TPM, TELSTRA CORPORATION LIMITED – ASX TLS, SINGTEL OPTUS PTY LTD, VODAFONE HUTCHISON AUSTRALIA PTY LTD, MACQUARIE GROUP LIMITED – ASX MQG, WASHINGTON H SOUL PATTINSON AND COMPANY LIMITED – ASX SOL, INVESTORS MUTUAL LIMITED, ARMYTAGE PRIVATE LIMITED, WATERMARK FUNDS MANAGEMENT PTY LTD

Bundled reforms await return

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Original article by Jake Mitchell
The Australian – Page: 26 & 28 : 16-May-16

The Australian Government will have to reintroduce its bill on cross-media ownership reform to Parliament if it wins the 2016 election. It is likely to package the reforms with a bill to reduce TV broadcasting licence fees, changes to the anti-siphoning for sports events and the pricing and allocation of broadcasting spectrum. The Government has previously ruled out introducing separate bills to abolish the "reach rule" and the "two-out-of-three rule".

CORPORATES
SEVEN WEST MEDIA LIMITED – ASX SWM, NINE ENTERTAINMENT COMPANY HOLDINGS LIMITED – ASX NEC, TEN NETWORK HOLDINGS LIMITED – ASX TEN, WIN CORPORATION PTY LTD, SOUTHERN CROSS MEDIA GROUP LIMITED – ASX SXL, PRIME MEDIA GROUP LIMITED – ASX PRT, FOXTEL MANAGEMENT PTY LTD, NEWS CORP AUSTRALIA PTY LTD, NEWS CORPORATION – ASX NWS, TELSTRA CORPORATION LIMITED – ASX TLS, AUSTRALIAN LABOR PARTY

Let TV stations trade spectrum: minister

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Original article by Jake Mitchell
The Australian – Page: 21 : 11-Mar-16

Federal Communications Minister Mitch Fifield addressed the RadComms conference on 10 March 2016, where he outlined a proposal for TV broadcasters to share, lease or trade any spectrum that is surplus to their requirements. However, the proposal has been criticised by Australian Subscription Television & Radio Association CEO Andrew Main, who says free-to-air networks should not be "gifted" spare public spectrum and then profit from leasing it to other companies.

CORPORATES
AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF COMMUNICATIONS AND THE ARTS, AUSTRALIAN SUBSCRIPTION TELEVISION AND RADIO ASSOCIATION (ASTRA) INCORPORATED, FREE TV AUSTRALIA LIMITED, AUSTRALIAN COMMUNICATIONS AND MEDIA AUTHORITY

Telstra tipped to lift mobile market share

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Original article by Mitchell Bingemann
The Australian – Page: 17 : 27-Jan-15

Australian telcos Telstra and Singtel Optus now have access to more parts of the wireless frequency spectrum, enabling them to boost their 4G mobile telephony and internet offerings. The combined spending of $A2bn on the 700Mhz and 2.5Ghz bands will according to experts at Morgan Stanley trigger substantial growth in the number of subscribers using data plans for mobile devices such as tablet computers. Telstra in particular will benefit, and lift its market share to 54% during 2014-15. Users will experience more generous data allowances but few price falls

CORPORATES
TELSTRA CORPORATION LIMITED – ASX TLS, SINGAPORE TELECOMMUNICATIONS LIMITED – ASX SGT, SINGTEL OPTUS PTY LTD, MORGAN STANLEY AUSTRALIA LIMITED, VODAFONE HUTCHISON AUSTRALIA PTY LTD

‘Death knell’ for community TV as Turnbull flicks the internet switch

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Original article by Mitchell Bingemann
The Australian – Page: 7 : 11-Sep-14

The Australian Government will reallocate the spectrum that is used by community TV stations. Communications Minister Malcolm Turnbull says community stations will need to become internet-only broadcasters from the start of 2016. He says this will provide them with access to a much larger audience, noting that only about 2,000 people watch community TV stations during prime-time

CORPORATES
AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF COMMUNICATIONS, AUSTRALIAN COMMUNITY TELEVISION ALLIANCE, CHANNEL 31, TELEVISION SYDNEY (TVS) LIMITED

‘Death knell’ for community TV as Turnbull flicks the internet switch

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Original article by Mitchell Bingemann
The Australian – Page: 7 : 11-Sep-14

The Australian Government will reallocate the spectrum that is used by community TV stations. Communications Minister Malcolm Turnbull says community stations will need to become internet-only broadcasters from the start of 2016. He says this will provide them with access to a much larger audience, noting that only about 2,000 people watch community TV stations during prime-time

CORPORATES
AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF COMMUNICATIONS, AUSTRALIAN COMMUNITY TELEVISION ALLIANCE, CHANNEL 31, TELEVISION SYDNEY (TVS) LIMITED

‘Death knell’ for community TV as Turnbull flicks the internet switch

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Original article by Mitchell Bingemann
The Australian – Page: 7 : 11-Sep-14

The Australian Government will reallocate the spectrum that is used by community TV stations. Communications Minister Malcolm Turnbull says community stations will need to become internet-only broadcasters from the start of 2016. He says this will provide them with access to a much larger audience, noting that only about 2,000 people watch community TV stations during prime-time

CORPORATES
AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF COMMUNICATIONS, AUSTRALIAN COMMUNITY TELEVISION ALLIANCE, CHANNEL 31, TELEVISION SYDNEY (TVS) LIMITED