IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/eee/indorg/v106y2026ics0167718726000391.html

Interaction of spectrum auctions and mobile market competition: Review of theory and evidence from European 4G auctions

Author

Listed:
  • Ershov, Daniel
  • Salant, David

Abstract

This paper examines the effects of ex ante market structure on spectrum auctions and their impact on mobile market outcomes. We review the relevant theory and provide a simple analytic framework suggesting that larger incumbents acquire more spectrum in auctions to disadvantage smaller competitors. Using novel data on European 4G spectrum auctions, we present suggestive evidence of this effect for low-band ( < 1GHz) auctions. Exploiting idiosyncratic differences in auction timing across countries, we show that HHIs, and potentially prices, increase following low-band auctions, particularly in markets where incumbent operators had relatively high pre-auction market shares. These changes are not accompanied by improvements in coverage or increased investment. Operator-level regressions show that these effects are driven by incumbent operator behaviour.

Suggested Citation

  • Ershov, Daniel & Salant, David, 2026. "Interaction of spectrum auctions and mobile market competition: Review of theory and evidence from European 4G auctions," International Journal of Industrial Organization, Elsevier, vol. 106(C).
    • Handle: RePEc:eee:indorg:v:106:y:2026:i:c:s0167718726000391
    DOI: 10.1016/j.ijindorg.2026.103287
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0167718726000391
    Download Restriction: Full text for ScienceDirect subscribers only
    File URL: https://libkey.io/10.1016/j.ijindorg.2026.103287?utm_source=ideas
    LibKey link: if access is restricted and if your library uses this service, LibKey will redirect you to where you can use your library subscription to access this item
    ---><---

    As the access to this document is restricted, you may want to

    for a different version of it.

    More about this item

    Keywords

    ;
    ;
    ;

    Statistics

    Access and download statistics

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:eee:indorg:v:106:y:2026:i:c:s0167718726000391. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    We have no bibliographic references for this item. You can help adding them by using this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: Catherine Liu (email available below). General contact details of provider: http://www.elsevier.com/locate/inca/505551 .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.