00:00The airwaves that support our calls, our work, our lives are worth billions of dollars.
00:09But the regulator doesn't want to hold new auctions for what's known as Spectrum.
00:14Instead, it's proposing to roll over current licences, giving Telstra, Optus and others
00:21cut-price ongoing access to public airwaves.
00:24It's hard to know why they would do that and certainly not in the interest of the Australian taxpayer.
00:2969 expiring Spectrum licences were bought for $8.2 billion.
00:35But the Australian Communications and Media Authority, ACMA, wants to roll them over to the existing holders
00:41for between $5 and $6.2 billion.
00:45Well, taxpayers will be losing between $2 and $3.2 billion.
00:50That's shortchanging Australian consumers.
00:53ACAN commissioned Professor Richard Holden to analyse ACMA's proposal.
00:58Why don't we just run an auction and find out what we get?
01:01And if we get $5 billion, then fair enough.
01:03But if we get $10 billion or $12 billion, then that'll be better for the taxpayer.
01:08The regulator says rolling the contracts over is the best option.
01:12Spectrum is a public asset for which industry should pay a fair price and from which consumers
01:18should gain maximum benefit.
01:21Existing players say no matter what happens, the cost is passed on.
01:25There's a direct relationship between the price that's paid for Spectrum
01:29and ultimately the price that consumers pay for their services.
01:33The thing about auctions is you never know who might turn up.
01:36By rolling over the licences, we're locking in incumbents and locking out potential competitors
01:41and new technologies.
01:43How long do we get?
01:44The Amazon �us and the valuation?
01:45Let's go to the real table.
01:46We want to pay for the water.
01:47Let's have our new plug-in service.
01:48I'm really sorry.
01:49Up next to this!
01:50We'll catch the legal communications.
01:51How long did we get the hitches?
01:53We'll catch up on the net.
01:54We'll catch it next time.
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