Spectrum auction starts on 27 May 2015
Jochen Homann: "Early provision of radio resources plays a vital role in ensuring internet access throughout the whole of Germany."
Year of issue 2015
Date of issue 2015.04.24
The Bundesnetzagentur has today admitted three companies to the forthcoming auction for spectrum for mobile broadband.
"We will start the spectrum auction on 27 May in Mainz. Germany will be the first country in Europe to make spectrum in the
700-Megahertz frequency band available for mobile broadband,"
said Jochen Homann, President of the Bundesnetzagentur,
and added: "We expect the auction to provide a strong impetus for a rapid rollout of the broadband networks, especially in rural areas."
The spectrum auction was preceded by a qualification procedure to check that the legal requirements for admission to the auction had been fulfilled. The following companies were today admitted to the auction:
- Telefónica Germany GmbH & Co. OHG
- Telekom Deutschland GmbH
- Vodafone GmbH
In total 270 MHz of spectrum from the 700 MHz, 900 MHz, 1500 MHz and 1800 MHz bands will be auctioned. The spectrum at 900 MHz and 1800 MHz provided the basis for establishing the mobile communications network as it is today, especially nationwide mobile voice communication, and the intention is that it should also be used in the future for broadband internet access.
Frequencies in the 700 MHz band have so far been used for terrestrial television. The switch to DVB‑T2 means that they will be freed up and can be used for mobile broadband. Network operators will be able to roll out high speed internet using relatively few base stations to those areas that are currently under-served. The Bundesnetzagentur's goal is to use these frequencies to achieve almost complete nationwide provision of the population with broadband internet access – as is already the case with mobile voice telephony. For this reason the frequency usage rights include a coverage obligation of 98% of the population.
The auction commences with a public event on 27 May 2015 at 10.00am in the Bundesnetzagentur's offices in Canisiusstrasse 21, 55122 Mainz. Information on the auction's progress will be provided daily throughout the auction on the Bundesnetzagentur's website.
Additional information can be found at www.bundesnetzagentur.de/mobilebroadband