Norway’s National Communications Authority (Nasjonal kommunikasjonsmyndighet, Nkom) has announced the winning bidders in an auction for offshore spectrum in the 700MHz and 900MHz bands.
With the frequency sale raising a total of NOK3.419 million (USD410,000), Equinor Energy emerged as the biggest spender, committing NOK1.265 million for a 2×10MHz block of spectrum in the 700MHz band and 2×5MHz at 900MHz, while Tampnet secured a 2×15MHz block in the 700MHz band at a cost of NOK1.200 million. Rounding out the companies to secure new spectrum, Telenor Maritime bagged a 2×10MHz block in the 900MHz band with a bid of NOK954,000. However, a 2×5MHz block in the 700MHz band and a 2×5MHz block in the 900MHz band went unsold, and the Nkom has said it will decide at a later stage how it plans to allocate these. Notably, the sale process marked the first time that frequencies in the 700MHz band had been made available for offshore use.
