(Telecompaper) Australia's digital dividend auction will commence on 23 April and is expected to run through to mid to late May. The Australian Communications and Media Authority (ACMA) will offer spectrum licences in the 700 MHz band and 2.5 GHz band for a period of fifteen years. The spectrum in the 700 MHz band is offered on a national basis and is divided into nine generic lots of 10 MHz in paired configuration (2x5 MHz). In the 2.5 GHz band there are eleven products for different areas, each containing fourteen lots. Each lot consists of 10 MHz in paired configuration (2x5 MHz). The telecommunications minister directed the ACMA to set reserve prices in the 700 MHz band at AUD 1.36 per MHz per population. This means that the starting price for a national lot of 2x5 MHz in the 700 MHz band is about AUD 311 million. In the 2.5 GHz band, the regulator has set reserve prices at AUD 0.03 per MHz per population.