2. Background

It is important that Government and industry have confidence that the spectrum allocation and management arrangements will continue to meet changing demand from a wide range of users. Ongoing reviews of the arrangements are a part of the quality assurance process.

Spectrum management in New Zealand is governed by the Radiocommunications Act 1989. The Act provides two parallel regimes for spectrum management:

1. The Management Rights Regime (MRR) provides for the creation and sale (by competitive auction) of tradable spectrum property rights over a defined frequency band, nationwide, for a specified period (usually 20 years). It permits the rightholder to create and assign spectrum licences to enable particular uses within that band. This regime covers most of the higher-value commercial uses of spectrum such as broadcasting, cellular mobile, and fixed wireless access services.

2. The Radio Licensing Regime (RLR) allocates spectrum to particular uses on an administrative ‘first-come, first-served’ basis and is not subject to competitive allocation. Security of tenure is limited (five years, or less with a transition plan), although licences are normally renewed until the licensee opts to cancel. This regime supports a wide range of critical commercial and non-commercial services including high capacity back haul telecommunications and broadcasting networks, land mobile radio, and public safety communications.

Compared to the MRR, the effectiveness of the RLR has received little attention since the enactment of the Radiocommunications Act 1989¹. Consultation was therefore undertaken to take a more focused look at the issues and ensure that the RLR continues to meet the needs of spectrum users.

Footnote

¹ Various reviews of spectrum management as a whole touched on issues around the Radio Licensing Regime. The 2005 review raised concerns about potential competition issues with spectrum management under the regime. A major review of the Radiocommunications Act in 2000, however, found only minor issues with the current regime, which were addressed through legislative changes.