Recently we’ve been working on expanding the capability of one of our mobile network models – the iterated cost (or bootstrap) model. In a nutshell, this model treats buyers and sellers of mobile data as rational economic agents. When the cost of supplying data falls, consumers buy more of it. Similarly, operators invest in additional[…]
Plum was part of the study team which advised the National Communications Commission on the auction of the 2.6 GHz band in Taiwan. Plum’s consultants led the valuation work, which employed a combination of techniques including international benchmarking, econometrics, avoided cost modelling and enterprise valuation. The work also included an assessment of the potential impact[…]
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 of scarce spectrum resources for mobile use. While the economic rationale for auctions is sound, the actual implementation has at times been flawed and the implications costly. This Insight looks at spectrum auction trends over the last decade, focusing on[…]
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[…]
Plum carried out an exercise for Telecom Argentina looking at the value of spectrum in various bands for their operations in Paraguay. This project was designed to inform Telecom Argentina of the relative value of spectrum, and to influence their future strategy around participation in spectrum auctions and other spectrum acquisition.
This study for the GSMA demonstrates the gathering global momentum around adoption of 1.4/1.5 GHz band for IMT services in the run up to WRC-15. The 1.4/1.5 GHz band is of value to IMT services because it provides much needed capacity to support traffic growth and has propagation characteristics that support better rural and in-building[…]
In order to identify where spectrum in the UHF bands could be made available for mobile broadband, Plum surveyed the television broadcasting markets across the Middle East and calculated how a move to digital television could free up significant amounts of spectrum in the sub-800MHz bands. Starting with the assumption that the number of channels[…]
Plum was commissioned by the Inter-American Development Bank to provide advice to the Mexican telecommunications regulator, the IFT, on the appropriate way of valuing spectrum ahead of a number of auctions. The IFT was set to significantly expand the amount of spectrum available to operators, and wanted to understand the appropriate level for reserve prices[…]
The assessment of future mobile data and spectrum demand is an important policy and business strategy question. The orthodox approach to these linked questions starts from a mobile data traffic projection to infer spectrum demand and value. However, future mobile data demand is uncertain, and spectrum demand and value is sensitive to data demand, since[…]