Croatia raised HRK 358.9 million (EUR 47.8 million) in the 5G frequency auction organized by the Croatian Regulatory Agency (Hakom).
The auction offered frequencies in the 700 MHz (758-788/703-733), 3600 MHz (3400-3800 MHz) and 26 GHz (26.5-27.5 GHz) bands on a national and regional level, with permits issued for a period of 15 years. The only exception were the Medjimurje and Varazdin counties, where permits were exceptionally issued for 13 years. After the expiry of the licenses, their validity may be extended for a maximum of five years.
The national licences in the 700 MHz band were taken by the three mobile operators Hrvatski Telekom, A1 Hrvatska and Telemach Hrvatska, which offered HRK 49 million, HRK 45 million and HRK 46.1 million, respectively.
The three also won spectrum in the 3600 MHz frequency band, with Hrvatski Telekom offering HRK 66.7 million, followed by Telemach Hrvatska (HRK 54.4 million) and A1 Hrvatska (HRK 53 million).
The 3600 MHz band was also allocated at the regional (county) level, with smaller operators competing, such as Eolo, Eco Net, Terrakom, BeeIN, Digicom and Markoja. Eolo's bids of HRK 3.3 million accounted for almost half of the total HRK 7.1 million spent on the regional licences.
Finally, in the 26 GHz band, four operators were awarded licenses, with Hrvatski Telekom paying HRK 15 million, followed by Telemach Hrvatska at HRK 7.7 million and A1 Hrvatska and Eolo each paying HRK 7.5 million.
Hrvatski Telekom was the first to launch a 5G network last year, based on Dynamic Spectrum Sharing with its existing spectrum holdings. Following the auction, A1 Hrvatska is activating its 5G network in the 700 MHz and 3.6 GHz frequency bands, with plans to cover 90 percent of the population and 50 percent of the territory, including all main road and railway transport routes, by 2027 at the latest.
