Norwegian postal and telecoms regulator PT has named TeliaSonera, Telenor and Telco Data as the winners in the auction for frequencies to expand mobile broadband. Norwegian website ComputerWorld said Telco Data was founded a few days ago with share capital of NOK 30,000 and is headed by Knut Glad. ComputerWorld cited Glad as telling Telecom Revy that there is a major industry player behind Telco Data whose identity and plans will be revealed in the new year. Inside Telecom said Glad is a lawyer with firm of solicitors Foyen and that he had told it that a foreign player is behind Telco Data. PT said the prices the three winners will pay will not be published until 10 December.
TeliaSonera won the universal coverage package of two blocks of 10 MHz in the 800 MHz band, which means it has an obligation to provide 98 percent population coverage within five years at an average of 2 Mbps, chiefly using frequencies in that band. All three winners of airwaves in the 800 MHz must cover 40 percent of the population within four years.
PT said TeliaSonera also won two 5 MHz blocks in the 900 MHz band and two 10 MHz blocks in the 1800 band. Telenor won two 10 MHz blocks in the 800 MHz band, two 5 MHz blocks in the 900 MHz band and two 10 MHz band in the 1800 MHz band. Telco Data won two 10 MHz blocks in the 800 MHz band, two 5 MHz blocks in the 900 MHz band and two 20 MHz blocks in the 1800 MHz band.
PT said this means that all the available blocks in the 800 MHz and 900 MHz bands were sold at the auction, but there are three remaining blocks of two times 5 MHz that were unsold.
