Germany to Auction Off Additional 3G Radio Spectrum
Germany plans to launch a second round of 3G auctions sometime next year, with a wider spectrum range than in the original auction. The second auction will be open to both new entrants as well as the incumbent operators, who have complained in the past that the earlier auctions did not offer sufficient spectrum for them to deliver data intensive services.
"Next year we will award frequencies in the 1.8 and 2.6 Gigahertz realm," Matthias Kurth, president of the Bundesnetzagentur telecoms regulator, told the Financial Times Deutschland.
Germany was one of the countries which managed to auction off its 3G licenses in 2000, shortly before the telecoms bubble broke. The country sold six licenses for a total of US$74 billion - although two licenses were later handed back.
Figures from the Mobile World report that the country ended the first half of this year with an estimated 99 million mobile phone users - representing a country penetration level of 120%.
On the web: Financial Times Deutschland - Mobile World
Posted to the site on 24th September 2008
