News - Ofcom to Increase License fees

[Nabs]

Ofcom have announced a massive increase in the amount mobile operators are going to have to pay for spectrum licenses

http://media.ofcom.org.uk/news/2015/annual-licence-fees-mobile-spectrum/

This is ultimately going to lead to higher bills for us customers and less investment in the network

[jeffkinn]

This is another indirect stealth tax on successful businesses and to be borne in mind the next time a disgruntled customer makes the fallacious statement that Vodafone doesn't pay any tax in the UK.

[hrym]

Just so we know what we're talking about:

Current and revised annual licence fees for 900 MHz and 1800 MHz spectrum

All figures £m	Vodafone	Telefonica	EE*	H3G*	Total
Current	15.6	15.6	24.9	8.3	64.4
Proposed Feb 2015	62.6	62.6	77.3	25.8	228.3
Final decision	49.8	49.8	75.0	25.0	199.6

For Vodafone and O2, that's a three-fold increase.  What we don't know, of course, is what proportion of overall operating costs is represents (and therefore what effect it may have on bills after the depressing* effects of competition are taken into account).   It does tend to suggest a government desperate for cash and prepared to milk every sector possible, though.

* I mean that competition tends to depress prices, not that it affects mood!