Cullen International published two new benchmarks on one-off fees and recurring fees for mobile bands in Europe.

One-off fees mostly determined by auctions

One-off fees for current mobile licences were mostly determined by auctions.

In nine countries, all mobile licences currently in force were awarded by auctions.

In most other countries, some of the current licences are the result of administrative decisions on licence extension or renewal.

One-off fees for mobile licences generally end up in the state budget.

In the majority of awards, licensees had to pay the entire one-off fee either immediately or in a few instalments within the first years after the awards.

Recurring fees

Our new Benchmark on recurring spectrum fees differentiates between:

• spectrum fees to ensure optimal use, typically collected as annual fees; and
• spectrum fees to cover the costs of spectrum management.

All but four countries charge annual fees for mobile licences.

Countries that charge annual fees usually direct them towards the state budget.

In five countries, annual fees go to the regulator’s budget, but the regulator transfers its surplus to the state budget. In two countries, the regulator does not forward its surplus to the state budget.

Only five countries have fees that specifically cover the costs of spectrum management.

In other countries, the spectrum authority is funded from the state budget or from more general fees of operators with no specific link between these fees and spectrum management costs.

For more information and access to the full benchmark, please click on “Access the full content” - or on “Request Access”, in case you are not subscribed to our European Spectrum service.