Regulator admits no chance of 3.5GHz 5G auction this year

The Netherlands’ regulatory body responsible for mobile spectrum management, the National Inspectorate for Digital Infrastructure (Rijksinspectie Digitale Infrastructuur, RDI), has admitted that the chances of completing a long-awaited 3.5GHz 5G licence auction this year – already thought to be slim – are now zero. An RDI spokesperson confirmed to Dutch news site NU.nl: ‘An auction this year is no longer a possibility. A new date for the auction has not yet been announced.’

TeleGeography’s GlobalComms Database notes that the Ministry of Economic Affairs & Climate Policy (MEACP) – of which RDI is a subordinate – warned in July that the 5G auction was unlikely to be completed by its December 2023 target, with the planned relocation of satellite operator Inmarsat’s 3.5GHz-based critical communication services from the Netherlands to Greece still a work in progress, and court hearings for appeals against the 3.5GHz licensing policy from Amsterdam’s Schiphol Airport and the Port of Rotterdam Authority scheduled for October. According to an MEACP spokesperson: ‘The appeal case will be heard by the court on October 11 and 12. Only then can we provide more clarity about when the auction can take place.’