Vodafone, Orange and Telefonica acquires 5G spectrum

Vodafone, Orange and Telefonica has acquired 5G spectrum for twenty year term in recently concluded auction in Spain.

Vodafone Spain has acquired 90 MHz of contiguous spectrum in the 3700 MHz band for mobile data services in the Economic Ministry’s auction for a total cost of €198.1 million. The fee will be paid by 20 equal annual instalments at a 2.35% interest rate.

Vodafone Spain will use the 3700 MHz spectrum to deploy 5G services, enabling gigabit speeds and lower latency to enhance applications including connected vehicles and robotics, industrial automated systems, and virtual and augmented reality.

Telefonica has obtained ten blocks of frequencies (50 MHz in total) in the auction and has expanded its holding in the priority frequencies for 5G.

The new spectrum obtained, which adds to the 40 MHz which Telefónica already has in this band, represents an investment of 107.4 million Euros, payable in twenty instalments. The concession period of this new spectrum extends to 2038.

Specifically, Telefónica has acquired 10×5 MHz in the 3600-3800 MHz sub-band, which will support the deployment of a nationwide network for the 5G technology from 2020.

This technological commitment will allow Telefónica to face, with all the necessary guarantees, the foreseeable increase in demand for data in mobility, as a result of the generalization of new connected devices, the Internet of Things, and the new applications in the connected car, augmented reality, or 4.0 industry environments, all of which demand high bandwidth and low latency connectivity solutions.

Orange Spain has paid about €132 million ($154 million) for a 60 MHz license. Orange Spain said it now has 100 MHz of spectrum in the 3.6 GHz range, having picked up a 40 MHz concession for €20 million in 2016.