Spectrum allocation and auction summary – 850/900 MHz band (2021)

The 850/900 MHz band spectrum auction started on 30 November 2021 and finished on 6 December 2021.

Spectrum in the 850/900 MHz band can support wireless broadband services across Australia. It will allow winning bidders to run both 4G and 5G networks.

All 16 lots of spectrum in the 850/900 MHz band were allocated. The total revenue raised was $2,091,618,000 from 2 winning bidders, Optus and Telstra. This was equivalent to almost $1.21/MHz/pop.

Two participants acquired spectrum in the allocation.

Access the full auction results.

All questions received were published (without attribution), along with our responses.

Read the FAQs.

The 850 MHz expansion band (LTE band 26/n26) and 900 MHz band (LTE band 8/n8) are sub-1 GHz bands internationally harmonised for the deployment of wireless broadband services, including 4G and 5G.

In 2015, we published our long-term strategy for the 803–960 MHz band. We made the following goals for the reconfiguration and allocation of the 850/900 MHz band:

• that the band be spectrum-licensed
• that the band be configured in 5 MHz channels
• that licensees be charged a market price (or a price informed by relevant market outcomes)
• that licensees be enabled to mitigate risks to the continuity of consumer services
• that a move to larger contiguous bandwidths be supported
• that the 1 MHz ‘downshift’ of the spectrum licences in the 850 MHz original band (825–845 MHz paired with 870–890 MHz) be facilitated by allocating the 2 x 1 MHz below those spectrum licences. This removes a key regulatory barrier to the downshift.

We want spectrum licences in the 850 MHz original band to be shifted down by 1 MHz to:

• Align the spectrum licences in the 850 MHz original band with internationally harmonised LTE bands.
• Introduce a 1 MHz guard band between the 850 MHz original band and the 900 MHz band. The guard band between the upper 850 MHz original band spectrum licences and the lower 900 MHz spectrum licences will reduce inter-band interference. It will also increase the usability of the lower segment of the 900 MHz band.

In May 2020, the then Minister for Communications, Cyber Safety and the Arts announced the government’s communications policy objectives for the 850/900 MHz band. The objectives:

• support the deployment of 4G and 5G technologies
• promote competitive market outcomes for the long-term benefit of consumers
• encourage investment in infrastructure, including in regional Australia
• support continuity of services
• support a national public safety mobile broadband (PSMB) capability.

In October 2020, following a recommendation from the ACMA, the then Minister for Communications, Cyber Safety and the Arts (the Minister) made the Radiocommunications (Spectrum Re-allocation – 850/900 MHz Band) Declaration 2020. It declared spectrum in the frequency ranges 814–825 MHz, 859–870 MHz, 890–915 MHz and 935–960 MHz (the 850/900 MHz band) to be re-allocated by issuing spectrum licences Australia-wide.

The Minister withheld the frequency ranges 809–814 MHz and 854–859 MHz from re-allocation, reserving them for future PSMB deployments.

In April 2021, the ACMA consulted on draft instruments to describe the allocation procedures and products to be made available at auction. In response to stakeholders’ views, we decided to disaggregate spectrum in the 850/900 MHz band into a major population area and a regional area, forming the Australia-wide area.