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Regional broadband licences

The 3.30–3.34 GHz band has been opened for regional broadband networks.

About regional broadband licences in 3.30–3.34 GHz

As a part of Radio Spectrum Management’s assignment of 3.3–3.4 GHz for regional wireless broadband and private networks, we have made available two 20 MHz channels (between 3.30–3.32 GHz and 3.32–3.34 GHz) for non-national/regional broadband use.

Licences will be available from the date of licensing through to 30 June 2033.

A 2-stage process of spectrum access: ‘exclusive right to licence’ followed by ‘first-in first-served’

From July 1 to December 31 2023 only those with an ‘exclusive right to licence’ were permitted to place licences in this band. An operator held this right within a territorial local authority (TLA) area for six months. The licences placed during this time will endure beyond the end of the exclusive right through to 30 June 2033.

This 6 month exclusive right period has now ended, and all licences applications have been considered by RSM. Going forwards, the spectrum will be open to other parties to establish licences on a first-in first-served basis. 

First-in first-served licensing in this band will open on 13 May 2024

From midday 13 May 2024, eligible parties will be able to submit licences in this band where there is spectrum remaining. Licences should be submitted via an ARE to the Crown Spectrum Asset Manager.

Completed licences will be considered in the order we receive them. A licence is not complete until it has been certified by an ARE and the Form 7 has been confirmed by the prospective licence holder.

Before licencing you must have your eligibility confirmed

Before licences can be submitted, parties must confirm their eligibility to licence in this band. If a party has not had their eligibility confirmed, its licences may be declined before further consideration.

To confirm your eligibility please send the following information to CrownSpectrum@mbie.govt.nz

Please note that your eligibility is not confirmed until RSM has replied affirming your eligibility.

• RSM Client ID number;
• Confirmation that you (or your associates as defined in sections 4.3, 12.2 and 12.3 of the licence agreement) do not hold or have interest in any National Management Rights;
• Confirmation that you (or your associates) have not breached the acquisition limit for this spectrum (as per section 4.1 of the licence agreement ); and
• Confirmation that you have no outstanding licence administration fees and/or spectrum resource charges.

Please note existing licensees in 3.30-3.34 GHz do not need to reconfirm their eligibility.

Rules

All licence applications must be accompanied by coverage maps to demonstrate that any new or modified licences do not result in any overlap of protection areas or harmful interaction with current or planned licences belonging to other parties in MR 514.

All licences will be subject to a resource charge (set out below), as well as other conditions, including a requirement to implement the licences within two years of licensing.

Licence agreement

Regardless of whether a licence is created during the ‘exclusive right to licence’ or ‘first-in first-served’ period, a licence agreement between the Crown and the prospective licensee will be entered into with specific conditions on the licence including use-or-lose provisions. The template licence agreement is provided below.

In line with previous non-national spectrum assignments, an acquisition limit will apply to licences in the 3.30–3.34 GHz band. An operator will be permitted to place licences in no more than 15 TLA areas and no more than 1 of these TLA areas may be a major urban centre (Auckland, Hamilton, Wellington, or Christchurch).

A sample licence agreement for licences in the 3.30–3.34 GHz band is available here:

Licence agreement (for licences within 3.30–3.34ghz non-national spectrum) [PDF, 382 KB]

Technical rules

The technical and policy rules for licensing in this spectrum are covered in PIBs 39 and 59.

Spectrum Licence Certification Rules for Crown Management Rights (PIB 39)

Policy rules for Crown Spectrum Management Rights (PIB 59)

Please note there is no requirement to use any particular frame structure throughout the 3.3–3.8 GHz frequency band. Instead, a non-mandatory recommended frame structure (5G-NR TDD 4:1 DL) is suggested across the full 3.3–3.8 GHz.

Wireless internet service providers (WISPs) offering rural broadband services are welcome to use long term evolution (LTE) or LTE-like equipment within the 3.30–3.34 GHz frequency segment of the 3.3–3.8 GHz frequency band. Users operating with alternative synchronisation and frame structures can operate in the band, provided that they do not cause interference to users operating with the default synchronisation and frame structure.

In addition, to minimize any potential for interference to and from rural broadband users, we have placed rural broadband users between 3.30–3.34 GHz, which creates a 60 MHz frequency separation between rural broadband providers and mobile network operators. This means that even with any unsynchronised system operation (due to the use of different synchronisation and frame structures), the likelihood of interference between regional broadband users and mobile network operators is very low.

The result of this is that you can use other technologies and frame structures apart from 5G New Radio (NR), and you will thus not be limited to only 1 equipment vendor because there is no expectation to synchronise with 5G-NR systems operating in other parts of the band.

Exclusive right to licence – no longer active

A sample agreement of the contract for the six month exclusive rights agreement is provided for reference:

Exclusive rights agreement for licences within 3.0–3.34 GHz [PDF, 340 KB]