After a legal challenge from operator Vivacom, Bulgaria’s Communications Regulation Commission (CRC) has revoked its decision to award 3.6GHz spectrum without an auction and will instead hold a bid on 6th April 2021.
The communications authority had originally scheduled a ‘secret’ bidding tender for the 5G-ready spectrum on 15th March, but took the decision to scrap this process after determining that it would be possible to allocate spectrum holdings to all interested parties without a bid.
Three nationwide permits are available, each valid for 20 years and allowing the use of one unpaired 100MHz block of spectrum in the band. Vivacom’s objection arose as it was looking to increase its holding in the 3700MHz-3800MHz range; with the CRC allocating the blocks, Vivacom would have had no influence on whether it received this block or the holding in the 3500MHz-3600MHz or 3600MHz-3700MHz ranges.
Upon receiving Vivacom’s challenge, the CRC noted that it would examine its legal options before committing to a course of action. TeleGeography now reports that the CRC has completed this action and, with the consent of all parties involved, scrapped its decision and set a new date for the tender.
