Update | Spectrum trading back on agenda for Hong Kong telecom operators
New auction likely to raise billions, but could lift monthly mobile charges by up to HK$36 per household
The Hong Kong government’s latest plan to reassign a huge batch of mobile frequency spectrum has renewed calls for the adoption of spectrum trading among the city’s telecommunications network operators.
HKT, the city’s largest operator of fixed-line and mobile networks, has again thrown the spotlight on the much-delayed implementation, following industry concerns the government’s new spectrum reassignment proposal could disrupt mobile network operations and significantly raise the cost of mobile communications services in the city.
Spectrum trading is the ability to trade the rights and obligations in radio spectrum, which is used for a variety of communications needs, including mobile telecoms, broadcasting, and the emergency services.
Industry regulator the Communications Authority (CA) and the Secretary for Commerce and Economic Development, Gregory So Kam-leung, jointly launched a public consultation in February on what the government should do when the licenses of the city’s incumbent mobile network operators in the 900-megahertz and 1800MHz bands expire.
Of the total 552 megahertz of spectrum currently assigned for use in mobile communications services, the existing assignments for chunks of spectrum in the 900MHz and 1800MHz bands will expire between November 2020 and September 2021, according to the CA.
