Estonia launches next 5G license competition
A new competition for six 5G 694-790 MHz frequency band licenses will start on Tuesday (September 6), the Consumer Protection and Technical Regulatory Authority (Tarbijakaitse ja Tehnilise Järelevalve Amet / TTJA) has announced.
Interested companies can submit applications to the TTJA to bid on the licenses until October 10. Each company can win a maximum of two.
The auction is scheduled to take place in November and the starting price for each license is 1 million. TTJA plans to issue the frequency licenses this year.
Agency director Kristi Talving said the that previous auctions showed that there is a lot of competition between communications companies and the interest in developing 5G networks is high.
This time, frequency bands that are "perfect" for covering rural areas will be auctioned, Talving said.
The rules of the competition state the license owner must make sure there is good coverage, at least 50 percent in two years and 95 percent in four years, for users.
Exceptions are in place for Ida-Viru, Jõgeva, Tartu, Põlva and Võru counties as the regions border Russia and it is not possible to guarantee the same coverage due to restrictions.
Coverage in rural areas should improve within the next two years, Talving added, in a statement.
Telia and Tele2 won the last auctions.
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Editor: Helen Wright
