At today’s press conference, attended by the President of UKE, Jacek Oko, and Michał Gramatyka, Secretary of State of the Ministry of Digital Affairs, the start of the 5G auction for the yet undeveloped 700 MHz and 800 MHz bands was announced.
This is only half a year after the previous 5G auction in the C band – so we can say that it is a success, and this is how Michał Gramatyka presented it, because we have been waiting for the auction of the 3500 MHz frequency for 3 years.
Nevertheless, it is also very good news for all of us, because these bands will allow us to improve the coverage of mobile networks on the main communication routes in Poland – road and rail, thanks to which we will no longer complain about the disappearing coverage right after passing the outskirts of our towns.
The starting price for each of the six 5 MHz blocks in the 700 MHz band and one in the 800 MHz band was set at PLN 356 million. All Orange, Play, Plus and T-Mobile operators will take part in the auction, and they have until January 27, 2025 to submit offers.
Jacek Oko, President of UKE:
The implied value of the block in the 700 MHz band was set in the range of PLN 269-356 million – and we adopted PLN 356 million as the starting price. We assumed the same price for the 800 MHz band. We initially estimate that if nothing unexpected happens, the frequencies will be able to be commercially used by the auction winners in June.
The actual auction is to be held at the end of March, and the entire auction, including the issuance of reservation decisions by UKE, is to be completed in June 2025.
Let’s take a look at the quality obligations that operators must meet after bidding selected blocks, and what this auction means for us – customers. Within the next year, 98% of households in Poland will be able to use mobile Internet with a minimum bandwidth of 50 Mb/s, by the end of 2028 – 95 Mb/s for 99% of households, and by 2030 – 120 Mb/s .
Source: UKE.
Source: antyweb.pl
