Our report provides assurance to Parliament over the regularity and propriety of the high-value transactions generated by the 4G auction process.
Jump to downloadsThe head of the National Audit Office, Amyas Morse, yesterday reported to Parliament the results of his examination of the Section 400 Licence Fees and Penalties account which is prepared by the Office of Communications. The 2012-13 account includes the proceeds of the recent auction of 4G Spectrum, and today’s NAO report provides assurance to Parliament over the regularity and propriety of the auction transactions, and the adequacy of the governance processes Ofcom developed to support the auction.
Ofcom’s objectives for the auction included the maximisation of consumer benefits, a universal coverage objective for at least one operator, and securing a fourth national competitor for the UK mobile phone market. Ofcom was set no objective to maximise the receipts from the auction. Ofcom set a reserve price of £1,360 million and the auction receipts totalled £2,368 million.
Given the level of public and Parliamentary interest in the auction, Mr Morse is currently considering what further work he needs to undertake on the auction process and its outcomes.
July 2013
Downloads
- 10189-OFCOM-for-web.pdf (.pdf — 117 KB)
Publication details
- ISBN: 9780102981759 [Buy a hard copy of this report]
- HC: 390, 2013-2014
