For Sale: German 700 MHz Band, $600M Minimum Bid

The Bundesnetzagentur - the German regulatory office for electricity, gas, telecommunications, post, and railway markets - is auctioning off frequencies for mobile phone operators this week. Three large companies were admitted to the to the auction, which started on Wednesday. 

"We will start the spectrum auction on 27 May in Mainz. Germany will be the first country in Europe to make spectrum in the 
700-Megahertz frequency band available for mobile broadband," said Jochen Homann, President of the Bundesnetzagentur, 
and added: "We expect the auction to provide a strong impetus for a rapid rollout of the broadband networks, especially in rural areas."

The spectrum auction was preceded by a qualification procedure to check that the legal requirements for admission to the auction had been fulfilled. The following companies were admitted to the auction:

Telefónica Germany GmbH & Co. OHG
Telekom Deutschland GmbH
Vodafone GmbH

In total, 270 MHz of spectrum from the 700 MHz, 900 MHz, 1500 MHz, and 1800 MHz bands will be auctioned. The spectrum at 900 MHz and 1800 MHz provided the basis for establishing the mobile communications network as it is today, especially nationwide mobile voice communication, and the intention is that it should also be used in the future for broadband internet access.

Frequencies in the 700 MHz band have so far been used for terrestrial television. The switch to DVB‑T2 means that they will be freed up and can be used for mobile broadband. Network operators will be able to roll out high speed internet using relatively few base stations to those areas that are currently under-served. The Bundesnetzagentur's goal is to use these frequencies to achieve almost complete nationwide provision of the population with broadband internet access – as is already the case with mobile voice telephony. For this reason the frequency usage rights include a coverage obligation of 98% of the population.

The auction is taking place in the Bundesnetzagentur's offices. Information on the auction's progress will be provided daily on the Bundesnetzagentur's website.