The Slovakian regulator – the Office for Regulation of Electronic Communications and Postal Services (also known as Regulacny Urad or RU) – has announced that it will be going ahead with an auction of 5G-capable spectrum.
The reasoning behind going ahead, despite concerns about the COVID-19 crisis, which have halted the process in a number of other countries, is to comply with an EU deadline.
The EU requires its member states to have allocated spectrum in the 700MHz band by 30 June this year. Accordingly, the regulator had announced a sale of licences in this band as well as of available space in the 900MHz and 1800MHz frequencies.
Local news reports indicate that the Slovak regulator plans to stick with its timetable in order to meet the EU target, giving operators until 25 May to apply to take part in the auction.
It’s not clear why these measures are being taken, given that some countries have postponed spectrum auctions during the COVID-19 crisis. In addition, some Slovakian operators have called on the regulator to reduce some of the financial burden on winning bidders, pointing out that flexible payment terms might be appropriate at a time when operators’ funds will be under pressure from crisis management measures.
