In a briefing to parliament, the Netherlands’ Ministry of Economic Affairs & Climate Policy has warned that the planned national 5G 3.5GHz mobile frequency licence auction could see further delays into 2024, Dutch news site Telecompaper reports. The government intends to make the spectrum available for 5G mobile services from December, but a court hearing of multiple appeals against the proposed licensing framework is scheduled for mid-October, while the government is yet to finalise an agreement with satellite operator Inmarsat necessary to vacate the 3.5GHz band.
As previously reported by TeleGeography’s CommsUpdate, in April 2023 Amsterdam’s Schiphol Airport and the Port of Rotterdam Authority filed legal actions against the government’s 5G 3.5GHz spectrum policy. Furthermore, the national licensing plan involves relocation of Inmarsat’s international emergency/safety shipping/aviation communication operations from the Netherlands to Greece, which the Dutch government hopes will occur by 1 January 2024, but if Inmarsat’s new Greek facilities are not operational by that date the satellite company will retain access to an 80MHz block in the 3.5GHz range.
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