Portugal’s 5G spectrum auction was delayed by the Covid-19 pandemic and officially came to an end on Wednesday after 200 days.
ANACOM was previously accused of unfairly favouring new entrants as it allowed operators to raise their buds by just 1% above rival offers, resulting in a drawn-out process of minor increases.
ANACOM was forced to change the rules to 3% in order to speed up the process and the regular recently faced criticism from Portuguese Prime Minister Antonio Costa over the delay.
Portuguese telco NOS said it has “won” the spectrum and in a statement sent to the Portuguese Securities Market Authority said: “With a global investment of €165,091,000, NOS has acquired all possible spectrum to exploit the new 5G technology: 100MHz in the 3.6GHz band and 2×10MHz in the 700MHz band, and 2×5MHz in the 2100MHz band and 2 × 2MHz at 900MHz Space Saver.”
Brazil’s 5G auction, meanwhile, could collect $538.60 million next week if all frequencies are sold according to Abraão Balbino, chief of telecoms regulator Anatel.
The Brazillian regulator said that last month that it would be the “largest spectrum auction ever” with blocks from four frequency bands set to be up for auction.
These four bands are 700MHz, 2.3 GHz, 3.5GHz and 26GHz and winning bidders must invest close to 40 billion reais in 5G infrastructure.
Fifteen companies and groups including Claro, TIM and Vivo registered for the auction which is set for 4 November.
