By Julius Ewudo, ASEAN Region Representative
The ACMA has successfully completed the allocation process for area wide licences in the 3.4–4.0 GHz band in remote areas of Australia.
31 companies applied for spectrum in this allocation with each company successfully securing spectrum. Licences were issued to resource companies, companies providing public and private telecommunications services and government organisations.
The licences are expected to support a wide range of innovative business cases, including broadband services for remote communities, health and safety applications, autonomous operation and monitoring, telemetry and robotics and augmented reality.
The 3.4–4.0 GHz band is suitable for a wide range of technologies and use cases, including 5G public mobile telecommunications services, enterprise telecommunications services and private wireless networks.
The remote allocation process was the first tranche of allocation activity undertaken as part of the ACMA’s wider allocation of mid band spectrum.
Applications for licences in remote areas were invited through an application window process, held between 17 and 31 July 2023. The ACMA then assessed applications against legislative and policy criteria. The high degree of interest in the allocation process demonstrates the diverse industries for which spectrum has become a critical input.
The licences issued by the ACMA, known as ‘area-wide licences’, are service and technology-flexible, and scalable to different network sizes and topographies. This flexibility allows licensees to roll-out bespoke networks suitable for the requirements of the relevant business or organisation. The licences are suitable for small, localised services as well as nation-wide networks.
