Poland to restart 5G auction after end of quarantine period

The Polish government has decided to repeat the entire procedure for auctioning 5G spectrum bands. The new process is expected to increase transparency and exclude the possibility of legal appeals over the allocation of frequencies.

Controversy over the auction started 16 April, when the chairman of the national telecommunications regulator UKE suspended the auction until the end of the Covid-19 quarantine period. However, an initial offer under the auction had already been submitted then, putting in question the legality of the regulator’s decision. The suspension is incompatible with the terms of the auction, which included exact dates for submitting applications and did not grant the UKE chairman the power to change the content.

If the auction continues under the same timeline after the end of the coronavirus measures, the situation could create uncertainty for operators planning expensive investment projects, the government said. Companies investing in 5G networks need maximum stability. As a result, the government considers a repeat of the entire auction process the fastest way to achieve implementation of 5G technology in the country.

The announcement was made in a statement on proposed changes to the Telecom Law. The government said it has decided to accelerate adoption of some of the changes to consumer protection in the EU’s new Electronic Communications Code, amid increased demand for the services during the confinement period. The changes will include allowing customers to end a contract by email, rather than having to submit a registered letter or visit a provider shop; an obligation for providers to inform customers when a contract is set to automatically renew and how they can cancel the subscription; and a requirement to provider customers with an assessment of the best tariff for their usage at least once a year.

―Telecompaper