Sharechat Logo

Telecom lines up to buy 700MHz spectrum to extend reach of 4G network

Friday 4th October 2013

Text too small?

Telecom has registered as a bidder for this month's government auction of spectrum in the 700 Megahertz range, which the phone company would use to build out its 4Gnetwork from major cities.

The government has spent $157 million clearing the spectrum of analogue television broadcasting to allow mobile phone operators to meet demand for ultra-fast mobile broadband services. The auction is scheduled to start on Oct. 29.

Telecom is already building its 4G network in major cities using 1800MHz spectrum though 700MHz is more economic for rural areas as it requires fewer cell sites.

"We hope to use 700MHz spectrum as the backbone of our 4G network," chief executive Simon Moutter said in a statement.

Devices suitable for use with 4G are expected to start becoming available in mid-to-late 2014.

Rival operator 2degrees said last month criticised the high prices for fourth generation mobile spectrum, with the government's reserve set at $198 million - well above the costs to clearing the band and the Treasury's $119 million valuation.

Shares of Telecom fell 0.4 percent to $2.31 today and have gained about 2 percent this year.

BusinessDesk.co.nz



  General Finance Advertising    

Comments from our readers

No comments yet

Add your comment:
Your name:
Your email:
Not displayed to the public
Comment:
Comments to Sharechat go through an approval process. Comments which are defamatory, abusive or in some way deemed inappropriate will not be approved. It is allowable to use some form of non-de-plume for your name, however we recommend real email addresses are used. Comments from free email addresses such as Gmail, Yahoo, Hotmail, etc may not be approved.

Related News:

Telecom Corporation of New Zealand (TEL)
Telecom in drive to latch on to growing data usage with 4G mobile launch next month
Telecom backs setting copper prices until 2020, warns against getting too far away from input cost
Telecom puts $60M price tag on new Auckland data centre, Hawkins, AECOM win build
Telecom ends jobs purge, looks for ‘more sophisticated’ ways to save money
Telecom FY earnings fall to bottom of guidance range, sees unchanged dividend in 2014
Telecom takes spat with Vodafone to regulator after dropping court action
Telecom unbundling key to regulator's copper conundrum
Telecom lures customers to faster services in EPL deal
Telecom's Gen-i slims down with Davanti sale to management