The importance of the size of the digital dividend when digital dividend spectrum is auctioned

Abstract

This paper simulates a 'service-neutral' digital dividend auction, considering three different amounts of spectrum (48 MHz, 80 MHz and 120 MHz). For this, an efficient simulator for combinatorial first-price sealed bid auctions has been implemented. The results show rather coherently that the price per lot is higher the smaller the amount of spectrum auctioned and that companies from the mobile environment will most probably emerge as main winners from these digital dividend auctions. These research findings are particularly important as the sharing out of the digital dividend represents a unique opportunity for putting a precious amount of radio electric spectrum at the disposal of other services, particularly for the development of new generations of mobile communications.Keywords: digital dividend; spectrum auctions; spectrum management; digital switchover; combinatorial auctions; UHF band; mobile communication; television; digital broadcasting; mobile multimedia.Reference to this paper should be made as follows: Gómez-Barroso, J.L., Mochón, A., Sáez, Y. and Feijóo, C. (2011) Claudio Feijóo is a Professor at Universidad Politécnica de Madrid where he researches on the future socio-economic impact of emerging information society technologies. He has just come back from a highly rewarding two years' visiting research at the Institute for Prospective Technological Studies of the European Commission. Since 1993, he has been involved in telecommunications and information society development from the academia, the practical implementation and the public administration perspectives. He lectures regularly on these matters and has published more than 50 peer-reviewed papers in academic journals and books.