Switzerland auctioned old and new mobile bands together for CHF996M

Switzerland faced a spectrum transition problem: some mobile frequencies were already free or soon to be free, while other useful bands were tied up in older assignments. A simple renewal would preserve awkward portfolios; a sale of only new bands would leave LTE planning constrained by legacy holdings.

ComCom's answer was to auction existing and additional mobile frequencies together in early 2012. OFCOM says Orange, Sunrise and Swisscom shared the frequencies after the process, while In&Phone was excluded for not meeting participation requirements.

The clever move was treating spectrum as a portfolio, not as isolated lots. Carriers could buy combinations that fit their networks, consumers got a path to LTE, and the federal treasury received CHF 996,268,000.

Auction the whole spectrum wardrobe

Bundling old and new bands made the auction a refarming tool, not just a revenue event.

Package-like bidding reduced the risk that a carrier would win one band but miss the complements needed for a usable network.

The admission screen kept an underqualified bidder from distorting a critical infrastructure allocation.

When old rights block a new technology, auctioning the whole portfolio can solve renewal, refarming and allocation in one market.

The auction ran from 6 to 22 February 2012 and allocated frequencies to Orange, Sunrise and Swisscom. The official release framed the result as paving the way for LTE and more efficient mobile technologies while raising CHF 996,268,000 for the Confederation.