Agency
Department of Infrastructure, Transport, Regional Development and Communications
Announcement date
Monday 9 August 2021
Problem being addressed
Whether the Minister for Communication, Urban Infrastructure, Cities and Arts, the Hon Paul Fletcher MP, should direct the Australian Communications Media Authority (ACMA) to impose allocation limits for the auction of 72 megahertz (MHz) of spectrum in the 850 MHz expansion band and 900 MHz band (together, the 850/900 MHz band), and if so, what those limits should be.
Proposal
This RIS considers whether the Minister should direct ACMA to impose allocation limits for the auction of 72 MHz in the 850/900 MHz band and if so, what those allocation limits should be.
Assessed RIS outcome
Adequate
Assessment Comments
The OBPR’s assessment is that the quality of the regulatory impact analysis in the RIS is Adequate and therefore sufficient to inform the Minister’s decision on whether to direct ACMA to impose allocation limits on the auction of 72 MHz of spectrum in the 850/900 MHz band and what those limits should be.
Regulatory burden
There are some compliance costs that bidders may experience as a result of the imposition of allocation limits. These costs result from the need for ACMA to implement measures to prevent parties from colluding to circumvent the intended operation of allocation limits in the auction. These costs will vary depending on the bidder’s own characteristics, such as their size and corporate structure, and other external variables such as the number and identities of bidders who apply to participate in the auction. However, each bidder’s compliance burden will not vary in response to the level which allocation limits that are set.