ANCOM receives two qualifying bids in multi-band spectrum auction

Romania’s National Authority for Management and Regulation in Communications (ANCOM) confirmed that just two companies submitted qualifying bids to obtain short-term licences for spectrum in the 800MHz, 2600MHz and 3.5GHz bands.

TeleGeography reports that RCS&RDS (DIGI) and Invite Systems made winning bids and will proceed to the next phase of the auction. The final results are expected to be announced in December, with licences to be issued by the end of 2021. ANCOM expects the auctions to generate at least EUR72.5 million (US$82.2 million).

The auction process permitted bidders to acquire 195MHz of frequencies, with permits valid from 1st January 2022. Licences for the 800MHz and 2600MHz band expire on 5th April 2029, while the 3.5GHz licences are valid up to 31st December 2025.

In the 800MHz band, one 2x5MHz block is available with a reserve price of EUR22 million. Eight 2x5MHz blocks are available for EUR4.3 million each in the 2600MHz band, along with 15MHz of TDD spectrum. In the 3.5GHz band, 18 lots of 5MHz TDD blocks are available for EUR700,000 each. Developing Telecoms