Spectrum pricing assesment in the 2.6 GHZ frequency band for long term lease

In this paper, an analysis of secondary spectrum market for an OFDM based technology is performed. The potential transactions between three different operators (entrant, medium and incumbent) are considered in three different scenarios: urban, suburban and rural. Based on their business models over a period of ten years, the maximum and minimum prices are estimated for each transaction. Results show that the incumbent operator is the more likely buyer/lessee of spectrum, due to its large number of costumers, and the entrant operator is the potential seller/lessor. This, in addition of the economic benefit, would allow the incumbent to access more spectrum, since regulation authorities usually limit the amount of spectrum an operator can access at the auctions, and softens at the same time the business model of the entrant operator, which can find an additional source of revenues for the early stages of the project.