Spectrum liberalisation in 900 and 1800 MHz bands

Together with LCC this study examined technical aspects of a number of possible options for the licensing liberalisation in the 900 and 1800 MHz bands.  The study  examined the spectrum requirements and specifically the current usage of the GSM spectrum by the three operators (Meteor, O2 Ireland and Vodafone Ireland) and the potential to support the current and forecasted traffic using only the GSM 1800 spectrum and no or limited GSM 900 spectrum.   This approach was adopted because at the time it was considered more likely that the 900 MHz band would be targeted for technology upgrade.    A number of scenarios were considered including the option of altering the licensed frequencies and the options open to the operators if they retained their current spectrum allocations.   The possible role of roaming and associated obligations was also discussed.

Benchmarking was also undertaken to understand approaches adopted in other countries and compare with the options in Ireland.

The study provided an analysis of the arguments for and against possible re-assignment options.