Five telecommunications operators have made preliminary bids totalling EUR 2.48 billion in the first round of Italy’s national 5G spectrum auction, according to a statement from the Ministry of Economic Development (MISE). Telecom Italia (TIM), Fastweb, Vodafone Italia, Wind Tre and Iliad submitted bids for licences in the 694-790 MHz and 26.5-27.5 GHz bands and will be allowed to increase their offers on 13 September.
Under the tender’s rules, new entrant Iliad had a special right to acquire up to three blocks of 2x5 MHz in the 700 MHz band of the six available, for which it bid EUR 676.5 million, said the ministry. However, the remaining two pre-qualified operators – Linkem and Open Fiber – decided not to submit bids for any of the licences, which will be valid until 2037.
The government previously announced that it aimed to raise at least EUR 2.5 billion of proceeds from the auction, with the 700 MHz spectrum currently used by TV broadcasters accounting for around 80 percent of the total. The ministry added that no initial bids were submitted for the 700 DSL band or for the specific block offered in the 3.6-3.8 GHz band, although the 200 MHz of spectrum available in the latter band is expected to receive bids in the competitive phase of the auction later this week.
