Czechia

[CZ] Frequencies in the 3.7 GHz band will be divided between two existing and two new operators

IRIS 2017-8:1/12

Jan Fučík

Česká televize

The “Invitation to tender for the award of rights to use radio frequencies to provide an electronic communications network in the 3600-3800 MHz band” has ended. In addition to two existing operators (O2 Czech Republic a.s. and Vodafone Czech Republic a.s.), Nordic Telecom 5G a.s. and PODA a.s. - two new applicants for high-speed data networks in this band - succeeded in the auction.

While existing operators could get only a 40 MHz frequency allocation in the auction, the spectral limit was doubled for new operators. This option has been taken up by Nordic Telecom 5G a.s.

The Chairman of the Czech Telecommunications Office (Český telekomunikační úřad) said that the result of the successful auction showed that the telecommunications market is geared to providing data services that are the backbone of a functioning digital economy. He pointed out that the 3.7 GHz frequencies were particularly suitable for building high-capacity mobile data networks and the future development of fifth-generation networks.

Each of the five auction blocks was auctioned for CZK 203 million - seven times higher than the starting price. The Czech Telecommunications Office is expected to officially allocate the acquired radio frequencies immediately after the successful tenderers pay the prices for the auctioned spectrum.