NRA sets EUR 105 mln starting price for 26GHz 5G auction

Spain’s Ministry of Economic Affairs and Digital Transformation has published a new public consultation on the bidding conditions for the forthcoming auction of frequencies in the 26GHz band for the provision of electronic communication services, above all 5G. The ministry said the starting price for the tender will be nearly EUR 105 million and the concessions will be granted for a period of 20 years, extendable for another 20.

Specifically, 12 nationwide concessions totalling 2,400MHz (12 x 200MHz) will be made available at a starting price of EUR 7.5 million each, plus 38 regional concessions at starting prices ranging from EUR 13,000 in Ceuta and Melilla to EUR 1.2 million in Catalonia, with a limit of 1GHz per operator in any of the areas. The consultation is open until 27 October 2022.

In spite of widespread requests to delay the 26GHz auction from the majority of Spain’s operators, the government appears determined to press ahead with the process to tender the last remaining priority tier for 5G services before the end of the year to comply with the schedule of the EU-funded Recovery, Transformation and Resilience Plan.

Spain held auctions of 5G-compatible frequencies in the 700MHz and 3.5GHz bands last year and subsequently reordered spectrum in the latter band to ensure operators could count on contiguous frequency blocks for the rollout of 5G.