Communications Day reports today that Australia’s mobile communications industry has welcomed news that 126 MHz of spectrum will be freed up from the switch to digital television.

Communications minister Stephen Conroy announced yesterday that a contiguous block of spectrum in the 694 to 820 MHz range would be made available and said auctions would likely take place in the second half of 2012.

“Once analog television signals have been completely switched off and the spectrum subsequently cleared of other users, 126MHz of spectrum will be freed-up,” said Conroy. The switch to digital TV is expected to be completed by the end of 2013.

“This decision will allow the necessary work on digital channel planning and the auction of the spectrum to commence,” he added.

Australian Mobile Telecommunications Association CEO Chris Althaus said the spectrum around the 700MHz band offered an excellent balance between transmission capacity and distance coverage and would allow the industry to move to next-generation mobile services.

“The mobile telecommunications industry needs timely access to sufficient spectrum to ensure the deployment of new and competitive mobile broadband technologies, such as Long-Term Evolution, which will significantly enhance the mobile broadband experience for users,” he commented.

AMTA last year commissioned a report by Spectrum Value Partners that found that the Australian economy would be boosted by up to $10 billion if at least 120MHz of useable spectrum unlocked from the digital dividend was made available for mobile broadband use.

Althaus said demand for mobile broadband was growing significantly, with predictions of the number of broadband subscriptions passing 50% of the population size in 2012.

“There’s no question with current growth in mobile broadband and mobile data traffic volumes, that without new spectrum resources there will be potential capacity constraints on the networks,” he said.

Ericsson GM of strategic marketing Kursten Leins said the allocation of “waterfront spectrum” gave the industry a significant amount of certainty. “The certainty of spectrum availability is critical for Australian operators to make investment plans for Long Term Evolution (LTE) deployment in this country, and also to determine how to most efficiently grow existing mobile broadband infrastructure and capacity to meet forecast demand,” he said.

The announcement was also welcomed by the country’s two biggest mobile players. Henry Calvert, director of Optus Products and Delivery, described it as a “critical decision” for future wireless services.

“We look forward to the details of the auction process being finalised and critically, the timing of the completion of restack which will dictate when the spectrum can be used,” Calvert told CommsDay, adding that Optus intended to be a key participant in the auction process.

Telstra CEO David Thodey was also enthused by the decision, suggesting it “keeps Australia in step with the mobile networks being developed in other parts of the world”, but also warned that the auction process needed to be streamlined.

“It is now imperative that the government, regulators and the industry continue to work cooperatively and with a sense of urgency to ensure that the economic and social benefits from the use of this vital spectrum begin to be realised as early as possible,” Thodey said.

The mobile industry has also called for the government to finalise its position on the 2.5GHz band. “We now urge the government to finalise its position on the 2.5 GHz band so that there is a comprehensive spectrum roadmap to allow the mobile industry to plan for future wireless services,” Optus’ Calvert said.

As a result of the spectrum decision, the Australian Communications and Media Authority said it was ready to consult with potential spectrum purchasers. The regulatory will release a public discussion paper in the third quarter of this year setting out planning and allocation issues and options for new spectrum licences.

“Today’s ministerial announcement allows the ACMA to commence detailed design work to deter- mine how best to put this spectrum back to work after the analog television closure,” said the ACMA chairman Chris Chapman.

“Where spectrum is to be allocated for wireless broadband, benefits to the Australian population will be maximised by a price-based allocation of spectrum licences to those who value them the most,” he said.

Chapman said there was enough time to complete the allocation of the new licences before the spectrum becomes available but also noted the move would require co-operation from broadcasters.

“Yielding the digital dividend will require the closest of cooperation with the free-to-air television industry. Other uses of affected broadcasting spectrum will also require consultation and the development

of options for future operations,” he said.