Spain raises EUR 1.65 bln in mobile spectrum tender

The Spanish Ministry of Industry has raised EUR 1.65 billion from its mobile spectrum tender completed 30 July, below its initial expectations of nearly EUR 2 billion. Tender winners include Telefonica, Vodafone, Orange, as well as regional operators Ono, Jazztel, Euskaltel, R, Telecable and Telecom Castilla La Mancha. The largest operators, Movistar, Vodafone and Orange, will contribute 98.5 percent of the overall amount, or EUR 1.62 billion. The 310 MHz auctioned spectrum was freed up as a result of the GSM frequency rearrangement and the analogue broadcasting switch-off (digital dividend).