The Authority is pleased to announce that the assignment process for spectrum in the 900 MHz and 1800 MHz bands is now concluded.
UPDATE: Cullen International reports 'Maltese regulator, MCA, awards spectrum in the 900 and 1800 MHz bands to GO, Melita and Vodafone through brokered meetings, avoiding the need for an auction.' Cullen International provides a unique range of regulatory monitoring services on telecommunications, media and electronic commerce, covering the European Union and 30 European countries.
On the 27 October 2010 the Authority issued a Call for Applications leading to access to rights of use of radio frequencies in the 900 MHz and 1800 MHz bands in Malta (MCA/10/52/O) (hereafter "Call for Applications"), inviting applications from undertakings who wish to obtain access to rights of use of radio frequencies in these bands in the Maltese territory.
The deadline for submitting applications was 10:00 hrs CET on Friday 14 January 2011. At the expiry of the deadline, 3 submissions were received.
The Applicants were:
Melita Mobile Limited (hereafter "Melita")Mobisle Communications Limited (hereafter "GO")Vodafone Malta Limited (hereafter "Vodafone")
The three Applicants passed the qualification stage and demand for spectrum exceeded supply. The Authority in line with the procedure established in the Call for Applications, held brokered meetings with the qualified applicants and subsequently put forward proposals for the assignment which proposals were accepted by all the applicants.
The Authority will, in the coming months, be issuing spectrum licences to reflect the accepted proposals as follows:
In the 900 MHz band,
Channel 1 will be assigned to Melita Mobile Ltd,
Channels 2, 3 and 4 will be assigned to Mobisle Communications Ltd
Channels 5, 6 and 7 will be assigned to Vodafone Malta Ltd.
In the 1800 MHz band,
Channels 1, 2, 3 and 4 will be assigned to Mobisle Communications Ltd
Channels 6, 7, 8, 9 and 10 will be assigned to Vodafone Malta Ltd.
Migration measures will also be established in respect of some channels in line with the accepted proposals. 'This is the first time that spectrum, already assigned and in use by local operators for the provision of mobile services, had to be reassigned due to the fact that the respective licences were coming to an end,' said Ing. Philip Micallef, Executive Chairman of the Malta Communications Authority.
'Challenges and risks present themselves in every new situation. This was no exception. We had to be extremely meticulous in the proceedings because the spectrum in question underpins the delivery of mobile services to hundreds of thousands of subscribers,' he continued.
The MCA adopted an innovative reassignment process, introducing brokered meetings involving all the parties that responded to the call for applications. In the event that the brokered meetings would not result in a spectrum assignment arrangement acceptable to all parties, the Authority would have had to proceed to assign the spectrum by Auction.
The new methodology was well received by the local market players who cooperated fully in the process enabling the Authority to conclude the new spectrum assignments via the brokered meetings, thereby avoiding the need to resort to auctioning off the spectrum. This ensured that the assignments were concluded in relatively short order and to the satisfaction of the market players.
'The mobile sector is one that has continuously evolved over the years. We no longer associate this sector with telephony – it goes well beyond this to include a whole plethora of communication services such as access to the Internet, emails and instant messaging. Playing an essential part in the provision of such services, issues of spectrum are always complex and very taxing on the MCA resources however in this case we have seen that cooperation leads to results,' concluded Ing. Micallef.