The Slovenian telecommunications regulator has listed its requirements for winning bidders in the country’s delayed auction of 5G spectrum.
The Agency for Communications Networks & Services originally planned to hold bidding for frequencies in the 700MHz, 1400/1500MHz, 2100MHz, 2300MHz, 3600MHz and 26GHz bands before the end of June this year. However, issues with implementing an updated Radio Frequency Spectrum Management Strategy forced the regulator to revise this plan. It is now believed to be targeting an auction date in September.
According to TeleGeography's CommsUpdate, winning bidders are required to have 5G services in at least one major city within one year of the licence awards. They will need to be using all the frequencies they win within five years in order to provide coverage of all major cities, although the 700MHz offering will also have to cover almost all motorways, and 60 percent of all train lines and main roads, by December 2025.
Spectrum caps will also be put in place as part of the sale, limiting the amount each bidder will be able to use. Upstream and downstream minimum bit rates have also been mandated. All licences will be technology neutral.
As reported recently, state-backed fixed and mobile operator Telekom Slovenije is now delivering Slovenia’s first commercial 5G services via its 2600MHz spectrum to about 25 percent of the country’s population. The network also supports Telekom Slovenije’s 4G offering.