Spanish operators Telefonica, Orange and Vodafone have secured 200 megahertz in the 3.6 GHZ-3.8 GHz band
The Spanish government raised a total of EUR 438 million ($510.2) for the sale of 5G frequencies, the country’s Ministry of Economy and Enterprise reported. The Spanish government auctioned spectrum in the 3.6G HZ-3.8 GHz range, which will be key for the launch of commercial 5G services in the country. The government had set a reserve price of EUR 100 million for the 5G spectrum.
Including interest, spectrum reservation costs and other previously levied fees related to the auction, the ministry said the treasury would earn EUR 1.4 billion from the tender.
Spanish carriers Movistar, Orange, Vodafone have all acquired 5G spectrum after 34 rounds of bidding. These carriers submitted bids for a total of 200 megahertz of spectrum, which was sold under 20-year licenses for lots of 5 megahertz at a minimum price of EUR 2.5 million each.
Orange acquired a total of 60 megahertz of spectrum for EUR 132 million. The operator already holds 40 megahertz in this band.
Telefonica, which operates in the mobile segment through its Movistar brand, purchased 50 megahertz of spectrum for EUR 107 million. The company already had 40 megahertz in the 3.5GH band.
Meanwhile Vodafone acquired a total of 90 megahertz for EUR 198 million.
Masmovil took part in the auction but did not acquire spectrum in the process. Last week, Masmovil said it agreed to pay EUR 30 million to acquire 40 megahertz of spectrum in the 3.5GHz band from Spanish satellite broadband operator Eurona, which it will use to provide its future 5G services. The company said it owns 80 megahertz of spectrum in the 3.5GHz band following this recent acquisition.
The maximum limit of frequencies available to a single operator in this band was set at 120 megahertz. The winning operators will be able to pay for the 5G spectrum in twenty instalments.
“Telefónica has acquired 10×5 MHz in the 3600-3800 MHz sub-band, which will support the deployment of a nationwide network for the 5G technology from 2020,” the telco said in a release.
“This spectrum adds to the spectrum available in other bands for the provision of advanced mobile communications services, providing capacity and an extensive coverage of superfast broadband.” Telefonica added.
“Orange is the only operator in Spain to reach a total of 100 megahertz in the most interesting spectrum for the development of the new ultrafast mobile broadband technology,” Orange Spain said in a press release.
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