{"id":11088,"date":"2026-01-30T09:20:52","date_gmt":"2026-01-30T09:20:52","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.gsma.com\/connectivity-for-good\/spectrum\/gsma_resources\/best-practice-mobile-spectrum-licensing\/"},"modified":"2026-02-03T09:57:46","modified_gmt":"2026-02-03T09:57:46","slug":"best-practice-mobile-spectrum-licensing","status":"publish","type":"gsma_theme_resources","link":"https:\/\/www.gsma.com\/connectivity-for-good\/spectrum\/gsma_resources\/best-practice-mobile-spectrum-licensing\/","title":{"rendered":"Spectrum Licensing &#8211; Best Practice for Mobile Networks"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>Effective spectrum licensing is critical to encourage the investment required to expand mobile access, meet the increase in demand for data services and enhance the quality and range of services offered.<\/p>\n<p>At its core, a spectrum licensing framework should:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li><strong>Ensure operators have access to sufficient spectrum;<\/strong><\/li>\n<li><strong>Provide predictability to support the new network investment needed; and<\/strong><\/li>\n<li><strong>Avoid costly restrictions on the use of spectrum beyond those needed to manage interference.<\/strong><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>In this updated paper, we take a closer look at a variety of major policy issues, including different approaches to licensing, pricing, license terms and conditions, and how the right policies can help encourage competition. We also look at the advantages and disadvantages of different ways to address these issues.<\/p>\n<p>And while there is no one-size-fits-all solution to spectrum licensing, the GSMA believes in a number of core principles. They include:<\/p>\n<ol>\n<li><strong>Predictable and timely spectrum licensing encourages long-term network investment;<\/strong><\/li>\n<li><strong>Auctions deliver social benefits\u2026 but must be properly designed;<\/strong><\/li>\n<li><strong>A presumption of licence renewal encourages long-term network investment;<\/strong><\/li>\n<li><strong>High spectrum prices jeopardise the effective delivery of wireless services; and<\/strong><\/li>\n<li><strong>Where spectrum is auctioned, ongoing charges should be limited to recovering the cost of spectrum management.<\/strong><\/li>\n<\/ol>\n<p>Find the remaining five and learn more by downloading the full spectrum licensing paper <a href=\"https:\/\/www.gsma.com\/connectivity-for-good\/spectrum\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/02\/Mobile-Spectrum-Licensing-Best-Practice.pdf\">here<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p>We also provide four case studies of countries which have implemented best practice in spectrum licensing: Brazil, India, Nigeria and Saudi Arabia.<\/p>\n<p>And read more about spectrum pricing <a href=\"https:\/\/www.gsma.com\/connectivity-for-good\/spectrum\/gsma_resources\/effective-spectrum-pricing\/\">here.<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Effective spectrum licensing is critical to support the investment required to further expand mobile access. In this paper we take a look at all the important issues<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":16,"featured_media":13263,"template":"","meta":{"image":"https:\/\/www.gsma.com\/connectivity-for-good\/spectrum\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/02\/cairo_group_licensing_best_practice_440x190.png","json":{"gsma_resources_type":"Multiple_Documents","gsma_resources_thumb":"[13263]","gsma_resources_file":"[8861]","gsma_resources_multi":[{"version":"Full report (in English)","offsite":"No","file":"[8861]","url":"","video":"","desc":"","image":"[8877]"},{"version":"Full report (in French)","offsite":"No","file":"[5136]","url":"","video":"","desc":"","image":"[7119]"},{"version":"Full report (in Spanish)","offsite":"No","file":"[5137]","url":"","video":"","desc":"","image":"[7120]"},{"version":"Brazil case study ","offsite":"Yes","file":"[]","url":"https:\/\/www.gsma.com\/connectivity-for-good\/spectrum\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/02\/Brazil-Spectrum-Licensing-Best-Practice.pdf","video":"","desc":"","image":"[9892]"},{"version":"India case study ","offsite":"Yes","file":"[]","url":"https:\/\/www.gsma.com\/connectivity-for-good\/spectrum\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/02\/India-Spectrum-Licensing-Best-Practice.pdf","video":"","desc":"","image":"[9893]"},{"version":"New Zealand case study","offsite":"Yes","file":"[]","url":"https:\/\/www.gsma.com\/connectivity-for-good\/spectrum\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/09\/New-Zealand-Spectrum-Licensing-Best-Practice.pdf","video":"","desc":"","image":"[10501]"},{"version":"Nigeria case study ","offsite":"Yes","file":"[]","url":"https:\/\/www.gsma.com\/connectivity-for-good\/spectrum\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/02\/Nigeria-Spectrum-Licensing-Best-Practice.pdf","video":"","desc":"","image":"[9894]"},{"version":"Saudi Arabia case study","offsite":"Yes","file":"null","url":"https:\/\/www.gsma.com\/connectivity-for-good\/spectrum\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/02\/Saudi-Arabia-Spectrum-Licensing-Best-Practice.pdf","video":"","desc":"","image":"[9895]"},{"version":"Austria case study","offsite":"Yes","file":"null","url":"https:\/\/www.gsma.com\/connectivity-for-good\/spectrum\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/02\/Austria-Spectrum-Licensing-Best-Practice.pdf","video":"","desc":"","image":"[12803]"},{"version":"Spectrum Leasing in the 5G era","offsite":"Yes","file":"null","url":"https:\/\/www.gsma.com\/connectivity-for-good\/spectrum\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/01\/Spectrum-Leasing-5G-Era.pdf","video":"","desc":"","image":"[12817]"},{"version":"Colombia case study","offsite":"Yes","file":"null","url":"https:\/\/www.gsma.com\/connectivity-for-good\/spectrum\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/02\/Colombia-Spectrum-Licensing-Best-Practice.pdf","video":"","desc":"","image":"[12827]"},{"version":"Canada case study","offsite":"Yes","file":"null","url":"https:\/\/www.gsma.com\/connectivity-for-good\/spectrum\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/02\/Canada-Spectrum-Licensing-Best-Practice.pdf","video":"","desc":"","image":"[12828]"},{"version":"Spain case study","offsite":"Yes","file":"null","url":"https:\/\/www.gsma.com\/connectivity-for-good\/spectrum\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/02\/Spain-Spectrum-Licensing-Best-Practice.pdf","video":"","desc":"","image":"[12839]"},{"version":"Vietnam case study (New)","offsite":"Yes","file":"null","url":"https:\/\/www.gsma.com\/connectivity-for-good\/spectrum\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/01\/Vietnam-Spectrum-Licensing-Best-Practice.pdf","video":"","desc":"","image":"[14218]"}],"gsma_resources_wgr":null,"gsma_resources_video":"","gsma_resources_image":"[]","gsma_resources_url":"","gsma_resources_date":"","gsma_resources_button":"Download"}},"tags":[],"resource_categories":[2612,2964,2611,2620],"algolia_discover_type":[4027,4028,4030],"class_list":["post-11088","gsma_theme_resources","type-gsma_theme_resources","status-publish","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","resource_categories-5g","resource_categories-policy-position-paper","resource_categories-spectrum-licensing","resource_categories-spectrum-policy","algolia_discover_type-case-study","algolia_discover_type-documents-and-reports","algolia_discover_type-resource"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO Premium plugin v27.8 (Yoast SEO v27.9) - https:\/\/yoast.com\/product\/yoast-seo-premium-wordpress\/ -->\n<title>Spectrum Licensing - Best Practice for Mobile Networks - Spectrum<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Effective spectrum licensing is critical to encourage the investment required to expand mobile access, meet the increase in demand for data services and enhance the quality and range of services offered.\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.gsma.com\/connectivity-for-good\/spectrum\/gsma_resources\/best-practice-mobile-spectrum-licensing\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_GB\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Spectrum Licensing - Best Practice for Mobile Networks\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Effective spectrum licensing is critical to encourage the investment required to expand mobile access, meet the increase in demand for data services and enhance the quality and range of services offered.\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/www.gsma.com\/connectivity-for-good\/spectrum\/gsma_resources\/best-practice-mobile-spectrum-licensing\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Spectrum\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:publisher\" content=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/gsma\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2026-02-03T09:57:46+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/www.gsma.com\/connectivity-for-good\/spectrum\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/02\/cairo_group_licensing_best_practice_440x190.png\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"440\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"190\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/png\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:site\" content=\"@GSMA\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Estimated reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"2 minutes\" \/>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO Premium plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"Spectrum Licensing - Best Practice for Mobile Networks - Spectrum","description":"Effective spectrum licensing is critical to encourage the investment required to expand mobile access, meet the increase in demand for data services and enhance the quality and range of services offered.","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/www.gsma.com\/connectivity-for-good\/spectrum\/gsma_resources\/best-practice-mobile-spectrum-licensing\/","og_locale":"en_GB","og_type":"article","og_title":"Spectrum Licensing - Best Practice for Mobile Networks","og_description":"Effective spectrum licensing is critical to encourage the investment required to expand mobile access, meet the increase in demand for data services and enhance the quality and range of services offered.","og_url":"https:\/\/www.gsma.com\/connectivity-for-good\/spectrum\/gsma_resources\/best-practice-mobile-spectrum-licensing\/","og_site_name":"Spectrum","article_publisher":"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/gsma\/","article_modified_time":"2026-02-03T09:57:46+00:00","og_image":[{"width":440,"height":190,"url":"https:\/\/www.gsma.com\/connectivity-for-good\/spectrum\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/02\/cairo_group_licensing_best_practice_440x190.png","type":"image\/png"}],"twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_site":"@GSMA","twitter_misc":{"Estimated reading time":"2 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/www.gsma.com\/connectivity-for-good\/spectrum\/gsma_resources\/best-practice-mobile-spectrum-licensing\/","url":"https:\/\/www.gsma.com\/connectivity-for-good\/spectrum\/gsma_resources\/best-practice-mobile-spectrum-licensing\/","name":"Spectrum Licensing - Best Practice for Mobile Networks - Spectrum","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.gsma.com\/connectivity-for-good\/spectrum\/#website"},"primaryImageOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.gsma.com\/connectivity-for-good\/spectrum\/gsma_resources\/best-practice-mobile-spectrum-licensing\/#primaryimage"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.gsma.com\/connectivity-for-good\/spectrum\/gsma_resources\/best-practice-mobile-spectrum-licensing\/#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/www.gsma.com\/connectivity-for-good\/spectrum\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/02\/cairo_group_licensing_best_practice_440x190.png","datePublished":"2026-01-30T09:20:52+00:00","dateModified":"2026-02-03T09:57:46+00:00","description":"Effective spectrum licensing is critical to encourage the investment required to expand mobile access, meet the increase in demand for data services and enhance the quality and range of services offered.","breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.gsma.com\/connectivity-for-good\/spectrum\/gsma_resources\/best-practice-mobile-spectrum-licensing\/#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-GB","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/www.gsma.com\/connectivity-for-good\/spectrum\/gsma_resources\/best-practice-mobile-spectrum-licensing\/"]}]},{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-GB","@id":"https:\/\/www.gsma.com\/connectivity-for-good\/spectrum\/gsma_resources\/best-practice-mobile-spectrum-licensing\/#primaryimage","url":"https:\/\/www.gsma.com\/connectivity-for-good\/spectrum\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/02\/cairo_group_licensing_best_practice_440x190.png","contentUrl":"https:\/\/www.gsma.com\/connectivity-for-good\/spectrum\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/02\/cairo_group_licensing_best_practice_440x190.png","width":440,"height":190,"caption":"Five young men gather closely, smiling and laughing as they look at a blue and yellow handheld device\u2014perhaps discussing spectrum licensing. They appear joyful and engaged, standing indoors against a green tiled wall in a lively, friendly atmosphere."},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/www.gsma.com\/connectivity-for-good\/spectrum\/gsma_resources\/best-practice-mobile-spectrum-licensing\/#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/www.gsma.com\/connectivity-for-good\/spectrum\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"Spectrum Licensing &#8211; Best Practice for Mobile Networks"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/www.gsma.com\/connectivity-for-good\/spectrum\/#website","url":"https:\/\/www.gsma.com\/connectivity-for-good\/spectrum\/","name":"Spectrum","description":"","publisher":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.gsma.com\/connectivity-for-good\/spectrum\/#organization"},"potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/www.gsma.com\/connectivity-for-good\/spectrum\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":{"@type":"PropertyValueSpecification","valueRequired":true,"valueName":"search_term_string"}}],"inLanguage":"en-GB"},{"@type":"Organization","@id":"https:\/\/www.gsma.com\/connectivity-for-good\/spectrum\/#organization","name":"GSMA","url":"https:\/\/www.gsma.com\/connectivity-for-good\/spectrum\/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-GB","@id":"https:\/\/www.gsma.com\/connectivity-for-good\/spectrum\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/","url":"https:\/\/www.gsma.com\/connectivity-for-good\/spectrum\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/06\/GSMA-Logo-Red-RGB_square.jpg","contentUrl":"https:\/\/www.gsma.com\/connectivity-for-good\/spectrum\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/06\/GSMA-Logo-Red-RGB_square.jpg","width":600,"height":600,"caption":"GSMA"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.gsma.com\/connectivity-for-good\/spectrum\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/"},"sameAs":["https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/gsma\/","https:\/\/x.com\/GSMA","https:\/\/www.instagram.com\/gsmaonline\/","https:\/\/www.linkedin.com\/company\/12380","https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/user\/GSMAOnline","https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/GSMA"]}]}},"cats":[{"term_id":2612,"name":"5G","slug":"5g","term_group":0,"term_taxonomy_id":2616,"taxonomy":"resource_categories","description":"","parent":0,"count":41,"filter":"raw"},{"term_id":4035,"name":"6G","slug":"6g","term_group":0,"term_taxonomy_id":4039,"taxonomy":"resource_categories","description":"","parent":0,"count":3,"filter":"raw"},{"term_id":4036,"name":"Direct-to-device (D2D)","slug":"direct-to-device","term_group":0,"term_taxonomy_id":4040,"taxonomy":"resource_categories","description":"","parent":0,"count":3,"filter":"raw"},{"term_id":2953,"name":"High bands","slug":"high-bands","term_group":0,"term_taxonomy_id":2957,"taxonomy":"resource_categories","description":"","parent":2740,"count":25,"filter":"raw"},{"term_id":2628,"name":"ITU WRC","slug":"itu-wrc","term_group":0,"term_taxonomy_id":2632,"taxonomy":"resource_categories","description":"","parent":0,"count":2,"filter":"raw"},{"term_id":2951,"name":"Low bands","slug":"low-bands","term_group":0,"term_taxonomy_id":2955,"taxonomy":"resource_categories","description":"","parent":2740,"count":40,"filter":"raw"},{"term_id":2952,"name":"Mid-bands","slug":"mid-bands","term_group":0,"term_taxonomy_id":2956,"taxonomy":"resource_categories","description":"","parent":2740,"count":39,"filter":"raw"},{"term_id":2964,"name":"Policy position paper","slug":"policy-position-paper","term_group":0,"term_taxonomy_id":2968,"taxonomy":"resource_categories","description":"","parent":2620,"count":21,"filter":"raw"},{"term_id":4000,"name":"Private networks","slug":"private-networks","term_group":0,"term_taxonomy_id":4004,"taxonomy":"resource_categories","description":"","parent":2620,"count":4,"filter":"raw"},{"term_id":2603,"name":"Resources","slug":"resources","term_group":0,"term_taxonomy_id":2607,"taxonomy":"resource_categories","description":"","parent":0,"count":40,"filter":"raw"},{"term_id":2740,"name":"Spectrum bands","slug":"spectrum-bands","term_group":0,"term_taxonomy_id":2744,"taxonomy":"resource_categories","description":"","parent":0,"count":7,"filter":"raw"},{"term_id":2611,"name":"Spectrum licensing","slug":"spectrum-licensing","term_group":0,"term_taxonomy_id":2615,"taxonomy":"resource_categories","description":"","parent":2620,"count":53,"filter":"raw"},{"term_id":2620,"name":"Spectrum policy","slug":"spectrum-policy","term_group":0,"term_taxonomy_id":2624,"taxonomy":"resource_categories","description":"","parent":0,"count":27,"filter":"raw"},{"term_id":2621,"name":"Spectrum pricing","slug":"spectrum-pricing","term_group":0,"term_taxonomy_id":2625,"taxonomy":"resource_categories","description":"","parent":2620,"count":24,"filter":"raw"},{"term_id":2619,"name":"Spectrum roadmaps","slug":"spectrum-roadmaps","term_group":0,"term_taxonomy_id":2623,"taxonomy":"resource_categories","description":"","parent":2620,"count":24,"filter":"raw"},{"term_id":3993,"name":"WRC-23","slug":"wrc-23","term_group":0,"term_taxonomy_id":3997,"taxonomy":"resource_categories","description":"","parent":2628,"count":9,"filter":"raw"},{"term_id":2615,"name":"WRC-27","slug":"wrc-27","term_group":0,"term_taxonomy_id":2619,"taxonomy":"resource_categories","description":"","parent":2628,"count":6,"filter":"raw"}],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.gsma.com\/connectivity-for-good\/spectrum\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/gsma_theme_resources\/11088","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.gsma.com\/connectivity-for-good\/spectrum\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/gsma_theme_resources"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.gsma.com\/connectivity-for-good\/spectrum\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/gsma_theme_resources"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.gsma.com\/connectivity-for-good\/spectrum\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/16"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/www.gsma.com\/connectivity-for-good\/spectrum\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/gsma_theme_resources\/11088\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":13820,"href":"https:\/\/www.gsma.com\/connectivity-for-good\/spectrum\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/gsma_theme_resources\/11088\/revisions\/13820"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.gsma.com\/connectivity-for-good\/spectrum\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/13263"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.gsma.com\/connectivity-for-good\/spectrum\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=11088"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.gsma.com\/connectivity-for-good\/spectrum\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=11088"},{"taxonomy":"resource_categories","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.gsma.com\/connectivity-for-good\/spectrum\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/resource_categories?post=11088"},{"taxonomy":"algolia_discover_type","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.gsma.com\/connectivity-for-good\/spectrum\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/algolia_discover_type?post=11088"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}