Deutsche Telekom and Vodafone Germany criticized high prices of the country’s auction
Germany’s Federal Network Agency announced that the 5G auction, which started in March, ended with 6.55 billion EUR offered in total by the four bidders. Deutsche Telekom and Vodafone Germany criticized high prices of the country’s auction.
Deutsche Telekom bid 2.17 billion EUR for 2×20 MHz in the 2.1GHz band and 90 MHz in the 3.6 GHz band. Vodafone paid 1.88 billion EUR. In the 2.1 GHz frequencies, it bought 2×20 MHz for 806 million EUR and in the 3.6 GHz band the company acquired 90 MHz for 1 billion EUR. Telefonica bid 1.4 billion EUR for a total spectrum of 90 MHz, including 2×10 MHz in the 2.1 GHz range for 381.1 million EUR and 70MHz in the 3.6 GHz band for 1.04 billion EUR. The newcomer 1&1 Drillisch acquired 2×10 MHz in the 2.1 GHz band and 50 MHz in the 3.6 GHz band for 1.07 billion EUR.
The coverage obligations for the licence winners include a requirement to supply speeds of a minimum of 100Mbps to at least 98% of households in each state by the end of 2022, as well as all federal highways, and the major roads and railways. Furthermore, each operator will have to set up 1,000 5G base stations by the end of 2022, in addition to 500 base stations in “white spot” unserved rural areas. For newcomers, less stringent coverage requirements apply.
