The 900 MHz and 1800 MHz spectrum auctions in Thailand have generated plenty of headlines over the last few months. These have ranged from the initial astonishment at the spectacular prices to the recriminations that followed after new entrant Jasmine failed to pay the licence fee and thus lost the licence it won. Plum was[…]
Auctions have proved to be a popular tool among governments and regulators for the assignment ofscarce spectrum resources for mobile use. While the economic rationale for auctions is sound, the actualimplementation has at times been flawed and the implications costly. This Insight looks at spectrumauction trends over the last decade, focusing on reserve prices in[…]
Radiospectrum is a vital input in the provision of mobile services. Additional spectrum enhances the coverage and capacity of mobile networks, enabling them to meet the ever-growing demand for mobile data. Yet attaching an appropriate value to spectrum is a perennial problem for regulators and operators – regulators must decide how to allocate spectrum and[…]
High quality broadband connectivity for all is central to the European Union’s Digital Single Market objectives. Yet the concept of high quality universal broadband and its relationship to a universal service obligation which includes broadband is ill-defined. In this Insight we set out an economically rational approach for defining and funding universal broadband. This highlights[…]
Information and communications technology has made substantial contributions to productivity growth, and productivity growth is the only sustainable source of income and leisure growth. The smartphone’s ubiquity and growth in apps means that mobile devices are now the key enablers of this economic and social progress. Europe has done well in terms of mobile-apps. It[…]
Bundling in telecommunications retail markets is growing, with nearly two thirds of households now purchasing a form of bundle in the UK. Consumer demand is driven by rational and consistent maximisation of personal benefit, and the idiosyncratic psychological ways people actually make decisions. Behavioural economics is the study of economic decision making in the light of[…]
Plum has provided expert technical support to ComReg in relation to the future licensing and use of the 3.6 GHz band (3400 – 3800 MHz) in Ireland, following the expiry of existing rights of use for fixed wireless access local area (FWALA) licences in 2017. This included advising on the appropriate technical and other conditions[…]
The date for the referendum on whether Britain should remain in the European Union has been set. Companies within the telecoms sector, their boards and customers are all likely to be impacted if Britain was to exit – Brexit. Here we provide a short overview of the possible legal and regulatory implications for the telecoms[…]
The EU needs high speed and ubiquitous broadband if it is to deliver additional economic and social benefits to its citizens through the Digital Single Market. This will require major investment in new technologies to upgrade Europe’s telecommunications access networks.
Plum was part of a consortium examining all aspects of Public Protection and Disaster Relief (PPDR) systems under European research programme FP7. Plum was involved in the development of the reference usage scenarios with the aim of identifying the typical current and anticipated future operational scenarios faced by PPDR operatives and the related communications needs,[…]