Cullen International published a new benchmark on the spectrum fees paid by mobile operators in 13 Middle Eastern and North African countries (MENA), including Kuwait.

The benchmark shows the fee structure for the radio spectrum currently used for mobile in MENA countries, such as 700 MHz, 900 MHz, 1800 MHz, 2100 MHz and 3.5 GHz.

In particular, the benchmark shows:

• the procedure used to set one-off spectrum fees;
• annual fees for spectrum licences;
• other fees for using spectrum or providing wireless services; and
• the destination of revenues raised from spectrum fees.

The research shows that three different procedures were used to award spectrum in the region and that only three countries do not impose annual spectrum usage fees.

Click to view visual: Nine countries in MENA assigned spectrum at least once based on a competitive process (auction or beauty contest) 

To access the full benchmark, please click on “Access the full content” - or on “Request Access”, in case you are not subscribed to our MENA Telecoms service.