This was Spain’s second sale of 5G-suitable spectrum, following an auction covering the 3.6GHz to 3.8GHz bands in 2018
Spain’s 700MHz spectrum auction, first planned to take place in early 2020 but delayed because of the coronavirus pandemic and then delayed even further due to disputes over price and conditions related to the spectrum licences, was completed in late July 2021, raising over 1 billion EUR.
Vodafone, Orange, and Telefonica all acquired 2x10MHz blocks of 700MHz spectrum. Vodafone and Orange will both pay 350 million EUR, while Telefonica bid 310 million EUR, because of faster rollout obligations. The fourth mobile operator in terms of market share, Masmovil, opted out of the process earlier this month. Players did not bid for any of the 5MHz blocks of non-paired spectrum available and the auction did not reach the 2.1 billion EUR target set by the regulator.
All licences will be valid for a period of 20 years and extendable for a further 20-year period. The operators are obligated to activate 5G services in 450 localities with populations above 50,000 by the end of June 2025, as well as covering the country’s largest airports, train stations and motorways.
This was Spain’s second sale of 5G-suitable spectrum, following an auction covering the 3.6GHz to 3.8GHz bands in 2018. A third and last 5G spectrum auction, this time in the 26GHz band, is planned to take place before the end of the year.
