The Secretary for Commerce and Economic Development (SCED) and the Communications Authority (CA) announced today (March 30) their decisions, made after carrying out public consultations, that a total of 325 MHz of spectrum in various frequency bands will be auctioned in the fourth quarter of this year. Interested parties may apply to participate in the auction.

     A spokesman for the CA said that among the 325 MHz of spectrum, there is 220 MHz of new spectrum in the 600 MHz, 700 MHz and 4.9 GHz bands, and 105 MHz of re-assigned spectrum in the 850 MHz and 2.5/2.6 GHz bands. The available spectrum will meet the needs of various innovative applications, in particular those for the fifth generation mobile (5G) services, in terms of speed, capacity and coverage. The arrangements for the above spectrum are summarised in the table in the Annex. The CA will provide details nearer the time of auction.

     The spectrum utilisation fee (SUF) will be determined by auction. The auction reserve prices will be set by the SCED nearer the time. To enable greater financial flexibility for spectrum assignees, the assignees are allowed to choose to pay the SUF either by lump sum payment up front or by annual instalments.

     For details about the decisions made by the SCED and the CA on individual frequency bands, please refer to the four joint statements issued today:

For the 600/700 MHz bands:
www.cedb.gov.hk/ccib/en/consultations-and-publications/consultation-papers/joint_statement_600_700MHz_2021.pdf
www.coms-auth.hk/filemanager/statement/en/upload/558/600_700_mhz_statement.pdf

For the 850 MHz band:
www.cedb.gov.hk/ccib/en/consultations-and-publications/consultation-papers/joint_statement_850MHz_2021.pdf
www.coms-auth.hk/filemanager/statement/en/upload/557/850_mhz_statement.pdf

For the 2.5/2.6 GHz band:
www.cedb.gov.hk/ccib/en/consultations-and-publications/consultation-papers/joint_statement_2.5_2.6GHz_2021.pdf
www.coms-auth.hk/filemanager/statement/en/upload/556/2_5_2_6_ghz_statement.pdf

For the 4.9 GHz band:
www.cedb.gov.hk/ccib/en/consultations-and-publications/consultation-papers/joint_statement_4.9GHz_2021.pdf
www.coms-auth.hk/filemanager/statement/en/upload/555/4_9_ghz_statement.pdf

Ends/Tuesday, March 30, 2021
Issued at HKT 16:30

NNNN