Austrian telecommunications regulator targets social and economic benefits of 5G
The Austrian Regulatory Authority for Broadcasting and Telecommunications (RTR) has announced plans for the development of an investment-friendly 5G auction framework. Their innovative and progressive approach will see a significant boost to the socio-economic impact of the 5G deployment while also considering ROI for operators.
The Austrian Regulatory Authority for Broadcasting and Telecommunications (RTR) recently announced its plans for the auction of 5G spectrum throughout the country. The announcement followed extensive assessment of the potential socio-economic benefits of opting for a more investment-friendly framework and makes generous considerations for the ROI for MNOs at the same time.
The approach is the first of its kind and will provide additional incentives for operators to deliver coverage to more remote areas. The assessment, conducted by the world’s leading independent wireless advisory firm, Real Wireless, looked at the both the enhanced infrastructure requirement and its impact on rural communities, roads, and overall population.
Further information on the project and the progressive approach taken by RTR can be found here.
Since 2016, Real Wireless has worked on various predictive modelling exercises assessing the achievable 700 MHz coverage and capacity from Austrian MNO ‘s existing site infrastructure. This was followed by the second step; the intelligent network densification modelling by optimised placement of additional sites to meet RTR’s coverage obligation targets.
Working with regulators to determine requirements for service delivery in urban and rural areas and to consider issues presented by difficult terrain and topographical conditions such as those encountered in Austria has helped Real Wireless optimise and enhance their suite of tools and processes to include intelligent algorithms in their proprietary processes. These can be used to help regulators, mobile operators, neutral hosts, road and rail operators and local authorities to better understand the deployment options available – and the associated costs – to deliver mobile voice and data services to consumers on a national or local level.
Oliver Bosshard, COO at Real Wireless, said:
“Working with regulators such as RTR, to assess the network densification cost of different coverage obligations, helps us to really understand the extended techno-economic impact of a 5G rollout. By looking at the subsequent socio-economic benefits to communities, businesses, local authorities and the associated cost to the operators, we can help regulators to appreciate the longer term benefits, allowing them to come up with a progressive and affordable spectrum valuation approach that incentivises operators to invest rather than simply looking at the short term financial gains of traditional spectrum auctions.”
