Romanian regulator ANCOM has opened competitive bidding for short-term licences for the country’s unused mobile frequencies.
ANCOM (National Authority for Management and Regulation in Communications) plans to make 195MHz of spectrum available across the 800MHz, 2600MHz and 3.5GHz bands. The regulator expects the tender to generate a minimum of EUR72.5 million (US$83.9 million).
TeleGeography reports that licences for the spectrum will be valid from 1st January 2022, and will expire in accordance with the permits currently active in each band. Accordingly, permits in the 800MHz and 2600MHz bands will expire on 5th April 2029, while the 3.5GHz licences will expire on 31st December 2025.
A single 2x5MHz block will be available in the 800MHz band with a base price of EUR22 million. Eight blocks of 2x5MHz will be up for grabs in the 2600MHz band with a reserve price of EUR4.3 million per paired block. Additionally, a single block of 15MHz TDD spectrum will also be available in this band for EUR3.5 million. Finally, 18 5MHz TDD blocks in the 3.5GHz band will be sold for EUR700,000.
The coverage obligations will vary depending on the type of spectrum covered by the licence. 800MHz licence holders will need to deliver download speeds of minimum 2Mbps to 95% of the population within 56 specified regions by the end of 2023. Meanwhile, 3.5GHz licensees will be required to deploy 25 base transceiver stations (BTS) within one year of their licence becoming valid. They will need to match this in the following year, and achieve 100 total BTS within 42 months.
Parties wishing to bid must apply before 15th November, with the participants to be announced two days later so that the auction may be held no later than 25th November. ANCOM intends to announce the results in December so that permits may be issued before year-end.
