The Australian government plans to sell spectrum freed up from analog TV for LTE services in the second half of 2012.
Communications Minister Stephen Conroy said the range frequencies would be released as a “contiguous block of spectrum in the upper UHF band, comprising the frequency range 694-820MHz.”
UHF spectrum at 700MHz is currently used for analog broadcasting services. The services will begin shutting down next week in parts of regional Australia. Sydney, Brisbane and Adelaide will be the last areas that will have to migrate to digital TV by the end of 2013.
The move paves the way for the three operators – Telstra, Optus and Vodafone Hutchison Australia – to emerge with 2x20MHz of paired spectrum at 700MHz for LTE.
“Once analog television signals have been completely switched off and the spectrum subsequently cleared of other users, 126MHz of spectrum will be freed-up,” Conroy said.
The auction could raise as much as A$3 billion ($2.6b) for the government, says the Australian.
Regulator the Australian Communications and Media Authority (ACMA) will unveil a public discussion paper in the third quarter on planning and allocation issues.