{"id":23636,"date":"2025-05-15T10:03:11","date_gmt":"2025-05-15T09:03:11","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.gsma.com\/newsroom\/?p=23636"},"modified":"2026-02-04T10:51:27","modified_gmt":"2026-02-04T10:51:27","slug":"gsma-calls-for-governments-to-prioritise-affordable-spectrum-costs-to-support-global-digital-growth","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.gsma.com\/newsroom\/press-release\/gsma-calls-for-governments-to-prioritise-affordable-spectrum-costs-to-support-global-digital-growth\/","title":{"rendered":"GSMA Calls for Governments to Prioritise Affordable Spectrum Costs to Support Global Digital Growth"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><em>New GSMA Global Spectrum Pricing Report finds spectrum costs have risen sharply as a percentage of revenues, increasing the cost burden on operators and constraining critical network investment.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><strong>15 May 2025, London \u2013 <\/strong>The GSMA today released its latest \u2018<a href=\"https:\/\/www.gsma.com\/connectivity-for-good\/spectrum\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/05\/Global-Spectrum-Pricing-v2.pdf\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Global Spectrum Pricing Report<\/a>\u2019, highlighting that average spectrum prices have not reduced in line with operator revenues over the last decade \u2014 putting significant pressure on their ability to invest in essential network infrastructure.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The report shows that, whilst both consumer prices for mobile services and the average cost of spectrum have fallen, the overall cost burden on mobile network operators (MNOs) has actually risen sharply. Global cumulative spectrum costs now account for 7% of operator revenues, a 63% increase over the past ten years. Meanwhile, the average revenue generated per megahertz (MHz) of spectrum has declined by 60% over the same period. Although costs per MHz have fallen by up to 75% in some bands since 2014, operators have increased spectrum holdings by 80% over the same period to cope with bandwidth demand, driving up the overall cost.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">A gigabyte of data is far more affordable today than ten years ago, with operators experiencing a staggering 96% fall in revenue per GB between 2014 and 2024. However, these falling revenues, when combined with the proportionately high cost of acquiring spectrum, restrict operators\u2019 ability to invest in expanding and improving mobile networks, particularly 4G and 5G. The report shows that higher spectrum costs correlate directly with lower network coverage and reduced mobile speeds, impacting consumers and slowing the development of digital economies worldwide.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><strong>Vivek Badrinath, Director General of the GSMA<\/strong>, said: <em>\u201cThe mobile industry sits at the heart of the digital economy, enabling services and opportunities that transform lives. But a dollar can only be spent once, and high spectrum costs can choke investment at a time when the need for affordable, reliable connectivity has never been greater. Governments and regulators must prioritise spectrum pricing that reflects market realities and fosters long-term digital growth. By ensuring spectrum is affordable, they can unlock faster network expansion, better service quality, and greater digital inclusion for all of their citizens.\u201d<\/em>&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The Global Spectrum Pricing Report also highlights that public policy choices \u2014 such as setting artificially high reserve prices, creating artificial scarcity, and attaching onerous licence obligations \u2014 have often contributed to inflated spectrum costs. In some countries, spectrum costs can reach as high as 25% of operator revenues.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The GSMA urges policymakers to adjust spectrum prices in line with current market conditions and the economic realities faced by operators. With nearly 1,000 spectrum licences set to expire worldwide by 2030, upcoming renewals present a critical opportunity to reset pricing policies to drive investment in the next generation of mobile networks.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-text-align-center wp-block-paragraph\"><strong>-ENDS-&nbsp;<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><strong>About the GSMA<\/strong>&nbsp;<br \/>The GSMA is a global organisation unifying the mobile ecosystem to discover, develop and deliver innovation foundational to positive business environments and societal change. Our vision is to unlock the full power of connectivity so that people, industry, and society thrive. Representing mobile operators and organisations across the mobile ecosystem and adjacent industries, the GSMA delivers for its members across three broad pillars: Connectivity for Good, Industry Services and Solutions, and Outreach. This activity includes advancing policy, tackling today\u2019s biggest societal challenges, underpinning the technology and interoperability that make mobile work, and providing the world\u2019s largest platform to convene the mobile ecosystem at the MWC and M360 series of events.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">We invite you to find out more at\u202f<a href=\"https:\/\/www.gsma.com\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">gsma.com<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><strong>Media Contacts<\/strong>&nbsp;<br \/>GSMA Press Office &nbsp;<br \/><a href=\"mailto:pressoffice@gsma.com\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">pressoffice@gsma.com<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>New GSMA Global Spectrum Pricing Report finds spectrum costs have risen sharply as a percentage of revenues, increasing the cost burden on operators and constraining critical network investment. 15 May 2025, London \u2013 The GSMA today released its latest \u2018Global Spectrum Pricing Report\u2019, highlighting that average spectrum prices have not reduced in line with operator [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":100,"featured_media":23640,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_feature_clip_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":true,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2},"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false},"categories":[3],"tags":[],"algolia_discover_type":[],"class_list":["post-23636","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-press-release"],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO Premium plugin v27.9 (Yoast SEO v27.9) - 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