Communications Day reports today that Australian Mobile Telecommunications Association CEO Chris Althaus has stepped up his criticism of efforts by the Australian Greens and independents to impose a range of restrictions on new mobile towers.

While the delicately balanced political environment could increase the chances of the proposed legislative changes succeeding, Althaus warned that they could affect the value of operators’ networks – and even the potential value of spectrum.

Both Greens leader senator Bob Brown and independent MP Andrew Wilkie have introduced legislation private members’ bills that would see operators’ freedom to deploy mobile towers sharply curtailed.

Brown’s bill, for example, would see ‘low impact’ mobile phone facilities made subject to state and territory or local government planning laws, and require operators to consult with landholders and occupiers within 500 metres of a planned facility. Althaus has previously argued that such constraints would “cripple new deployments not only for the mobile sector but also for the NBN in future,” but in a speech to the CommsDay Melbourne Congress he warned of ramifications reaching further still.

“There's huge investment uncertainty that may flow from this kind of discussion. Indeed, I've put it to the government... that the implications for the value of networks, the implications for the value of spectrum, will also be drawn into this debate,” said Althaus. “Because if you cannot effectively and efficiently deploy infrastructure, then you will have a significant challenge in terms of how you plan your investment, the time horizons involved, etc.”

If the attempts to restrict mobile tower deployment do impact spectrum valuation – which ultimately is determined by how much operators are willing to pay for the prized resource – they will further complicate an already charged issue.

The pressure is mounting on operators to secure price certainty on the renewals for their existing 15-year licenses, with the federal government apparently still deliberating on the matter – in context of widespread economic uncertainty and its own objective of returning to budgetary surplus by 2013. And the price of those existing license renewals will also play into how much operators will be able to spend on the 700MHz and 2.5GHz spectrum up for auction next year; all told, hundreds of millions of dollars could be at stake.

But with Wilkie’s key position in a split lower house and the Greens holding the balance of power in the Senate, it’s particularly difficult to forecast how the two pieces of legislation could play out in the broader political context, heightening industry anxiety.

“There will be a debate... so watch this space, as Messrs. Brown and Wilkie prosecute their particular angles there,” said Althaus. “But make no mistake: if those bills are successful, this industry will, at least for a moment, grind to a halt as we come to grips with how on earth you would effectively and efficiently deploy infrastructure throughout the nation.