Vodafone seeks clearance to acquire radio spectrum

The Commerce Commission has received an application from Vodafone New Zealand Limited seeking clearance to acquire the management rights to 700 MHz radio spectrum.

The Crown is auctioning the management rights to radio spectrum freed up by the switchover to digital television.

Spectrum in the 700 MHz band is expected to assist with the development of fourth generation (4G) mobile networks. The auction comprises nine blocks of 5 MHz paired spectrum in the 700 MHz band.

As part of the auction rules, there are limits on the amount of spectrum each bidder can acquire. At the start of the auction, each bidder will be limited to acquiring up to 2 x 15 MHz (or three blocks) of spectrum. However, these limits may be relaxed to 2 x 20 MHz (or four blocks) as the auction proceeds.

Vodafone seeks clearance to acquire the management rights to 2 x 5 MHz (or one block) of radio spectrum in the supplementary phase of MBIE's 700 MHZ spectrum auction.

The proposed acquisition would occur in circumstances where Vodafone has already bid successfully for the management rights to 2 x 15 MHz of spectrum in the initial phase of the auction.

In total, Vodafone seeks to acquire the management rights to 2 x 20 MHz (or four blocks) of spectrum, should the acquisition limits be raised to this level.