Limit licence fees to a level that recovers administrative costs
If set too high, licence fees, including up-front and annual charges, can restrict the number of players in the market, limit operators’ ability to invest in network rollout, and increase the price of mobile services. Conservative reserve prices for spectrum auctions result in fees, based on market value, that do not unduly drive up the cost of services. While international benchmarking can provide a useful comparison, reserve prices should be set according to local market conditions including, among other things, market competition, population, spectrum availability and GDP.