A regulator will typically issue some form of guide to the licensing process. Such a guide is sometimes referred to as a “Request for Applications for a Licence”, “Invitation to Tender”, “Licensing Guidelines”, or even “Licensing Tender”. We will refer to these documents collectively as the guide to the licensing process.
The guide to the licensing process sets out a range of important information about the licensing competition. Such information may include background to the competition, market conditions, the scope of the licence, the procedures that will be followed in the competition, qualification criteria, selection criteria, fees, and the schedule for the licensing process. This guide is typically made available to the public or to qualified bidders as soon as a form of notice of invitation to apply for the licence is released.
In some cases, additional documentation is issued in order to provide potential participants in the licensing process with more information about the licence, the licensing process, the local economy and regulatory framework, and other relevant matters. For example, in Singapore, the ICT regulator, Info-Communications Development Authority, published an Information Memorandum to provide interested parties with information about the proposed grant of Public Cellular Mobile Telecommunications Services Spectrum Rights. This Information Memorandum clearly states that its publication was for informational purposes only and is not an offer or invitation to participate in the auction process.