Oireachtas Joint and Select Committees

Tuesday, 23 May 2017

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Communications, Climate Action and Environment

Commission for Communications Regulation Performance Review: Discussion

5:00 pm

Mr. Gerry Fahy:

First of all we set a minimum threshold price based on international benchmarks. The price that was received was eight times that minimum threshold, that is to say the reserve price. As I mentioned earlier, the price received was well above the prices paid for similar spectrum internationally. Just before I came in I read a headline in an international journal saying that the price was 20 times what would have been expected based on international benchmarks. ComReg has no remit, however, in terms of the actual price. We are not there to generate the highest price. We are there to ensure the spectrum is assigned efficiently and is used effectively. That is what the auction process is about.