Germany hosts first major European 4G auction

Europe’s first major 4G spectrum auction is being held in Germany, and four mobile phone operators have already started bidding, enabling the government to make billions of euros.

Four mobile phone operators have started bidding for 4G spectrum, after the first major European 4G auction opened in Germany. It is thought that as a result of auctioning off 4G spectrum the German government may raise between five and ten billion euros, although this is considerably less than the fifty billion euros that it made when it auctioned off 3G spectrum a decade ago.

Analysts have said that the demand for 4G spectrum is strong, with mobile companies hoping to bring high speed access similar to that seen with high speed fixed line broadband connections to mobile phones. The four mobile communications giants that are bidding on the 4G spectrum at the auction are said to be T-Mobile Deutschland, Vodafone D2, Royal KPN’s E-Plus and Telefonica O2 Germany.

Whilst 3G technology has served operators well the increase in mobile device usage such as mobile broadband dongles and smart phones has seen the network become strained, which means that users have to cope with slower speeds, less reliable service, and poor coverage. Having 4G or Fourth Generation networks in place will help to address these problems.

One industry official said: “LTE promises to deliver a near fixed-line internet experience over mobile phones. From an operator’s perspective, the technology may allow them to provide data services at a lower cost. This auction will be a good indication of how much operators going to pay for licences throughout Europe and how serious they are in developing their mobile broadband vision.”

Source – BBC