Vive la différence II

The French telecoms regulator announced at the end of last week that they have finished the 2.6GHz auction process begun in June.

	FDD Allocation (MHz total)	Price (m€)	€/MHz/POP	Obligatory MVNO access
Orance	40	287	0.110	Y
SFR	30	150	0.077	N
Bouygues	30	228	0.116	Y
Free Mobile	40	271	0.104	Y
TOTAL	140	936	0.102

The format used in France was a first price single round sealed bid which meant there was no opportunity to learn and can lead to disparities in prices paid. As if to illustrate this point, one player (SFR) got the spectrum at the reserve and did not need to commit to hosting MVNOs.Although the price per MHz per pop does not look outrageous compared to some other 2.6 GHz auctions (e.g. Denmark and Sweden for example), it is 4.5x that seen in Germany in 2010 and this might be (partially) explained by the fact that the reserve price level set in France was a lot higher than that in Germany – 25x on a per MHz POP basis.

The 800MHz digital dividend spectrum is now to be launched before year end.

Written by Scott McKenzie, Director, Coleago Consulting

Vive la différence

The French telecoms regulator ARCEP announced the terms of the country’s 800 MHz and 2.6 GHz spectrum auction process in June. There are several noticeable features of the process: firstly the bands are being sold off sequentially with the 2.6GHz spectrum being auctioned in September and the 800MHz in December; secondly the auction is a first price sealed bid format, which is rather uncommon these days given the potential drawbacks with this format; and thirdly the reserve prices have been set at a very high level which is consistent with the worrying trend we have seen in other countries lately.

Since the auctions are sequential there is what game theorists call exposure risk which is due to the complimentary nature of 800MHz and 2.6GHz spectrum – i.e. a risk of overpaying for 2.6GHz spectrum as their bid price is based on an assumption they also win 800MHz and then fail to do so. In other words, should they bid on the 2.6GHz spectrum assuming no synergies with the 800MHz band and then risk not getting their desired allocation at 2.6GHz?

Given the fact that the format to be used in each stage is a single round first price sealed bid auction with no opportunity for price discovery, there is inherently a risk to significantly overpay – the so called “winner’s curse”. Equally there is a potential “loser’s curse” where a bidder might narrowly miss out on a spectrum block it might have been prepared to pay more for. With such a format, a bidder needs to study its own and competitors’ likely valuations as well as bidding intentions carefully to ensure successful participation and avoid embarrassing outcomes.

As we have seen in other European countries, which have announced forthcoming spectrum auctions (see our recent blog post on the Greek auction for example), the regulator is setting the reserve prices at a very high level in order to guarantee a high minimum revenue – in this case €2.5bn. If we compare the reserve prices set for the auction held in Germany in 2010 for example, it is striking that on a €/MHz/POP basis the French reserve prices have been set at 100x and 25x for the 800 MHz and 2.6 GHz bands respectively (although note the format used in Germany was multi-round). Although high reserve prices do discourage frivolous participation they also undoubtedly favour the bidders with deeper pockets and it could be argued that if the regulator really believed in market forces (since they are holding an auction) then they should set a low reserve and let the market decide.

Scott McKenzie, Director Coleago Consulting