(ShareCast News) - The amount charged to mobile operators by the government is set to triple after Ofcom set new annual licence fees for the mobile spectrum. The new fee structure was announced on Thursday after the regulator was directed by the government in 2010 to revise fees to reflect the full market value.Collectively, operators will have to pay a total of £199.6m annually. It was originally proposed in February they would have to pay £228.3m per year. Currently the fees are £64.4m.The price will be increased in two tranches - half the fee increase on 31 October 2015, with the full fee increase charged from 31 October 2016.Ofcom group director of spectrum Philip Marnick defended the price hike, and said they have listened to all the arguments and evidence."[We have] conducted a complex and comprehensive analysis to determine the new fees."The mobile industry has not previously had to pay market value for access to this spectrum, which is a valuable and finite resource, and the new fees reflect that value."Vodafone said in a statement it will be reviewing the proposed fees over the coming days."They represent a significant increase when we are already investing around £1bn on our network and services this year."