Germany outlines plans for 700MHz auction

Jochen Homann

The German government has announced that it will auction two blocks of spectrum in the 700MHz band, currently used for digital-terrestrial broadcasting, for mobile broadband. 

The government will divide the two 30MHz blocks into lots of pairs of blocks of 5MHz ahead of the auction, with a minimum price of €75 million per lot.

Winning bidders will have to commit to deliver coverage of 98% of homes across the country, including coverage of 97% in any one state. Established players who win spectrum will also have to commit delivering mobile broadband coverage along the main German highway and rail network routes.

Jochen Homann, president of the Federal Network Agency (Bundesnetzagentur) responsible for the auction, said that the move would make Germany the first European country to sell 700MHz spectrum for mobile broadband.

The Bundesnetzagentur has attracted critiscism for setting the price for 700MHz spectrum too high by some alternative telecom providers in Germany.