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**Why it matters (practical effects)

• It opens specific parts of mid‑band spectrum (3.4/3.7 GHz ranges) for allocation as spectrum licences in clearly‑defined geographic cells. That enables the ACMA to offer new licences (commonly by administrative allocation or auction) that can be used for services such as mobile broadband or fixed wireless.
• It sets a clear timetable (5 years) within which the re‑allocation must be completed, creating a regulatory deadline that incumbents and prospective entrants must plan for.

**How it works operationally and where discretion remains

• The Declaration itself designates frequency and geographic scope only; it does not set the detail of licence terms, prices, auction rules or compensation/transition arrangements. Those operational details are determined under the Act and by the ACMA using powers in Part 3.2 and Part 3.6 (see section 7 and the references to Subdivision B of Division 1 of Part 3.2).
• Geographic coverage is granular: the Schedule ties each named area to HCIS cell identifiers. Operators must translate HCIS lists into maps (the ACMA provides tools and the ASMG/HCIS document) to know exact boundaries (Interpretation, section 4, and Schedule 1 notes).

**Costs, incentives, trade‑offs and implementation risks (concrete mechanisms)

• Who pays: incumbent users in the reallocated bands may bear costs (equipment changes, relocation or loss of access) if their facilities must move or cease; prospective licensees pay licence fees or bid amounts if the ACMA allocates licences by auction. The Declaration does not itself set compensation terms — those follow the Act and ACMA processes.
• Incentives and competition: by increasing availability of mid‑band spectrum, the measure creates opportunities for service providers to expand capacity and compete. Benefits will be concentrated to successful licence holders (those that secure rights to the reallocated blocks); costs (e.g. transition, equipment replacement) will be borne by incumbents or contract counterparties depending on transitional rules under the Act.
• Bureaucratic discretion and implementation risk: the instrument leaves to ACMA the timing, processes and licence conditions for issuing licences. That discretion is standard under the Act but creates implementation risk around auction design, transitional arrangements, and interference management.
• Compliance and administrative burden: affected parties need to determine whether they operate in the listed HCIS cells, monitor the re‑allocation deadline, and engage with ACMA processes (applications, auctions, technical coordination). The requirement to translate HCIS codes into maps is an added administrative step (Schedule 1 notes the ACMA tool).
• Substitution and opportunity costs: firms may shift investment into the newly available bands or into other bands if unsuccessful. Time‑limited re‑allocation (5 years) places a planning horizon on both incumbents and prospective entrants that may accelerate or re‑prioritise commercial investment decisions.

**Source claims vs observable mechanics

• The instrument’s stated purpose is to declare parts of the 3.4/3.7 GHz bands for re‑allocation (section 7). That is an enabling, not an operational, act: the concrete economic effects (who wins licences, what prices, how incumbents are transitioned) depend on subsequent ACMA decisions under the Act.

Key references in the instrument

• Interpretation and definitions (HCIS, references to the Act): section 4.
• Re‑allocation period and deadline: section 6.
• List of frequency parts and the named areas they affect: section 7 (subsections (1)–(8)).
• The geographic definitions by HCIS identifiers: Schedule 1 (the table of named areas and HCIS lists).

(End of summary.)

5 References to other instruments

5 References to other instruments

In this instrument, unless the contrary intention appears: (a) a reference to any other legislative instrument is a reference to that other legislative instrument as in force from time to time; and (b) a reference to any other kind of instrument or writing is a reference to that other instrument or writing as in force, or existing, from time to time.

Note 1: For references to Commonwealth Acts, see section 10 of the Acts Interpretation Act 1901; and see also subsection 13(1) of the Legislation Act 2003 for the application of the Acts Interpretation Act 1901 to legislative instruments.

Note 2: All Commonwealth Acts and legislative instruments are registered on the Federal Register of Legislation.

Note 3: See section 314A of the Act.

6 Re-allocation period and re-allocation deadline

6 Re-allocation period and re-allocation deadline

For this spectrum re-allocation declaration: (a) the re-allocation period is the period of 5 years beginning at the start of the day after this instrument commences; and (b) the re-allocation deadline is the end of the re-allocation period.

7 Spectrum re-allocation

7 Spectrum re-allocation

(1) The part of the spectrum from 3400 MHz to 3425 MHz is subject to re-allocation under Part 3.6 of the Act: (a) by issuing spectrum licences under Subdivision B of Division 1 of Part 3.2 of the Act; and (b) with respect to the following named areas: (i) Albury; (ii) Cairns; (iii) Hobart; (iv) Launceston; (v) Quirindi west; (vi) Rockhampton; (vii) Rural Australia; (viii) Townsville. (2) The part of the spectrum from 3425 MHz to 3442.5 MHz is subject to re-allocation under Part 3.6 of the Act: (a) by issuing spectrum licences under Subdivision B of Division 1 of Part 3.2 of the Act; and (b) with respect to the following named areas: (i) Quirindi west; (ii) Rural Australia. (3) The part of the spectrum from 3475 MHz to 3492.5 MHz is subject to re-allocation under Part 3.6 of the Act: (a) by issuing spectrum licences under Subdivision B of Division 1 of Part 3.2 of the Act; and (b) with respect to the following named areas: (i) Quirindi east; (ii) Quirindi west; (iii) Regional New South Wales north; (iv) Regional New South Wales south; (v) Regional Queensland; (vi) Regional South Australia; (vii) Regional Victoria; (viii) Regional Western Australia central; (ix) Regional Western Australia south; (x) Rural Australia. (4) The part of the spectrum from 3492.5 MHz to 3510 MHz is subject to re-allocation under Part 3.6 of the Act: (a) by issuing spectrum licences under Subdivision B of Division 1 of Part 3.2 of the Act; and (b) with respect to the following named areas: (i) Albury; (ii) Cairns; (iii) Hobart; (iv) Launceston; (v) Quirindi east; (vi) Quirindi west; (vii) Regional New South Wales north; (viii) Regional New South Wales south; (ix) Regional Queensland; (x) Regional South Australia; (xi) Regional Victoria; (xii) Regional Western Australia central; (xiii) Regional Western Australia south; (xiv) Rockhampton; (xv) Rural Australia; (xvi) Townsville. (5) The part of the spectrum from 3510 MHz to 3542.5 MHz is subject to re-allocation under Part 3.6 of the Act: (a) by issuing spectrum licences under Subdivision B of Division 1 of Part 3.2 of the Act; and (b) with respect to the following named areas: (i) Albury; (ii) Cairns; (iii) Hobart; (iv) Launceston; (v) Quirindi west; (vi) Regional Western Australia central; (vii) Rockhampton; (viii) Rural Australia; (ix) Townsville. (6) The part of the spectrum from 3542.5 MHz to 3575 MHz is subject to re-allocation under Part 3.6 of the Act: (a) by issuing spectrum licences under Subdivision B of Division 1 of Part 3.2 of the Act; and (b) with respect to the Regional Western Australia central named area. (7) The part of the spectrum from 3700 MHz to 3750 MHz is subject to re-allocation under Part 3.6 of the Act: (a) by issuing spectrum licences under Subdivision B of Division 1 of Part 3.2 of the Act; and (b) with respect to the following named areas: (i) Adelaide; (ii) Albury; (iii) Ballarat and Bendigo; (iv) Brisbane; (v) Cairns; (vi) Canberra; (vii) Hobart; (viii) Launceston; (ix) Melbourne; (x) Perth; (xi) Regional New South Wales north; (xii) Regional New South Wales south; (xiii) Regional Queensland; (xiv) Regional South Australia; (xv) Regional Victoria; (xvi) Regional Western Australia central; (xvii) Regional Western Australia south; (xviii) Rockhampton; (xix) Rural Australia; (xx) Sydney; (xxi) Toowoomba; (xxii) Townsville. (8) The part of the spectrum from 3750 MHz to 3800 MHz is subject to re-allocation under Part 3.6 of the Act: (a) by issuing spectrum licences under Subdivision B of Division 1 of Part 3.2 of the Act; and (b) with respect to the following named areas: (i) Adelaide; (ii) Ballarat and Bendigo; (iii) Brisbane; (iv) Canberra; (v) Hobart; (vi) Melbourne; (vii) Perth; (viii) Regional New South Wales south (3750 MHz to 3800 MHz); (ix) Regional Queensland; (x) Regional South Australia (3750 MHz to 3800 MHz); (xi) Regional Victoria (3750 MHz to 3800 MHz); (xii) Regional Western Australia central; (xiii) Regional Western Australia south; (xiv) Sydney; (xv) Toowoomba.

1 Named areas

1 Named areas

A named area is: (a) the area named in column 1 of an item of the table; and (b) ascertained as the composite of the areas described using the identifiers from the Hierarchical Cell Identification Scheme set out in column 2 of the item.

Note 1: The Hierarchical Cell Identification Scheme (HCIS) is a naming convention for areas on the Australia Spectrum Map Grid 2012 (ASMG), which is a system used by the ACMA to define geographic areas for radiocommunications licensing. A document describing the ASMG and the HCIS is available from the ACMA’s website at www.acma.gov.au.

Note 2: A tool to convert lists of HCIS identifiers, such as the lists in the table, into Placemark files to allow these areas to be visualised using computer mapping software is available from the ACMA’s website at www.acma.gov.au.

Table

| Item | Column 1 | Column 2

This is an opening excerpt, not the complete document.