The auction for fourth-generation (4G) airwaves has been scrapped. The three local telcos - SingTel, StarHub and M1 - bought the airwaves at the reserve price set by the Government, totalling $360 million.

The Infocomm Development Authority (IDA) said Friday that the total amount of spectrum demanded did not exceed the amount of spectrum available. As such, there is no need for an auction.

A total of 270 MHz of spectrum in the 1800 MHz and 2.5 GHz spectrum bands was made available for allocation in the 4G auction. M1 obtained 80 MHz of spectrum for $104 million, while SingTel bought 100 MHz of spectrum for $136 million. StarHub paid $120 million for 90MHz of spectrum. This allocation will be crucial to the provision of 4G services islandwide for the entire population until 2030.

IDA's deputy chief executive, Mr Leong Keng Thai, said, "The successful allocation of spectrum in the auction will give operators more long-term certainty on their spectrum holdings as they continue to deploy 4G services. This will enable the industry to better meet the demands of growing mobile traffic, and ensure that consumers can reap the benefits of quality 4G mobile services well into the future."