Prague The results of the frequency auction for 5G smart mobile networks will increase the competitive pressure on operators and further reduce prices. This was stated on Twitter in response to Friday’s announcement by the Czech Telecommunications Office (ČTÚ), Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Industry and Transport Karel Havlíček (for YES).
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He described the auction as successfully completed. The key frequencies in the 700 megahertz (MHz) band will be shared between the current operators O2, T-Mobile and Vodafone, the fourth major operator, from which experts and politicians promised to reduce prices, did not appear in the auction.
“5G auction successfully completed. Thanks to the newly set conditions for national roaming in the 3.4 to 3.8 gigahertz (GHz) band and a new player in the market, the competitive pressure on mobile operators and further price reductions will increase significantly. At the same time, we bring better access to 5G for industry. And the budget goes to 5.6 billion crowns, “wrote Havlíček.
Units in the 3400 to 3600 MHz band were also shared between CentroNet and Nordic Telecom with current operators. The Lupa.cz website warned that they will be dependent on so-called national roaming in the O2 network. In Friday’s press release, the CTU stated that out of the original seven bidders, five had finally succeeded in the auction, and the companies Poda and Sev.en Innovations had failed. The frequencies were auctioned for a total of 5.6 billion crowns, the total starting price was 5.4 billion crowns.
Due to the auction of 5G frequencies, Havlíček got into a dispute with the then chairman of the CTU, Jaromír Novák, at the beginning of this year. Novák himself announced his resignation due to the efforts of the Ministry of Industry and Trade to change the conditions of the auction, the government eventually revoked him. He was replaced by Hana Továrková, the current board member, who was given the task of bringing the fourth operator to the market.
“The competition announced by the CTU was not in favor of the competition,” said Prime Minister Andrej Babiš (YES) at the time. According to him, due to the Office’s activities, payments for mobile services are significantly more expensive in the Czech Republic than in the rest of Europe. “Minister Havlíček came to the conclusion that Mr. Novák should not be the chairman of the CTU,” Babiš added.
In the following months, Továrková had the conditions of the auction adjusted to meet the intention of the Ministry of Industry and Trade to deepen competition in the market and attract new operators. “Of course, I’m sorry that the 5G auction did not end with the arrival of the big fourth infrastructure player, but I sincerely congratulate the successful operators,” former CTU chief Novák wrote on Twitter.
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