In July 2008 Ofcom published a consultation which explored options for extending administered incentive pricing (“AIP”) to spectrum used by the maritime and aeronautical sectors (“the July 2008 consultation”).
This was an initial consultation intended to address the issues associated with valuing and pricing this spectrum, and thereby stimulate debate on options for the role of licence fees in achieving optimal spectrum use for citizens and consumers.
After reviewing responses to that consultation exercise and commissioning further external consultancy, we published more detailed proposals, with a full impact assessment, for pricing aeronautical VHF communications frequencies in December 2009 (the “December 2009 consultation”). In parallel, we also published a report prepared by our consultants Helios Technology Ltd which set out recommendations on how Ofcom might determine fees for aeronautical VHF service types (the “Helios 2009 Pricing report).
Revised proposals for pricing maritime VHF communications spectrum and spectrum used with radar and aeronautical navigation aids had been published separately in August 2009 and a concluding statement on those matters was published on 15 June 2010.
We published on 29 March 2010 a consultation setting out a proposed general framework for spectrum pricing principles and methodologies. No proposals were made for specific fees to apply to particular licence classes or spectrum bands. Although that consultation process has not yet been concluded, we consider the principles proposed in that review and those underpinning the conclusions of the present statement are fully consistent.