More than $73 million is now expected to change hands after the results of the 5G tender in the Dominican Republic were announced.
Operators Claro and Altice will together pay the sum after a tender, which began last August, ended early this week with the opening of the envelopes revealing the operators’ offers.
According to the TeleSemana website, Claro, the country’s leading operator with more than 58 percent of the mobile market, offered $37,936.52 per megahertz per year. This was the highest bid and permitted Claro to choose 70MHz in the 3.3-3.4GHz band. The operator’s total outlay for this will be more than $53 million dollars for the 20 years it is permitted to use its frequencies.
Altice, whose share of the market is more than 36 percent, offered $21,100 per MHz and won 70MHz in the 3.4-3.5GHz band – that’s a payment of more than $20.6 million for a 14-year concession. The third mobile provider, Viva, which has 5.5 percent of the market, did not take part in the bidding.
TeleSemana says the Dominican Republic has seven million mobile lines serving a population of nearly 11 million inhabitants.
The 5G frequencies will be formally awarded to the two operators on 28 October. The expectation is that the first services will be launched some time next year.
