At least three telecom companies will be allowed to bid on a range of frequencies for 5G technology this fall. This is the responsibility of the Ministry of Economic Affairs and Climate Policy announced Thursday. The starting prices of the auction together yield 176.1 million euros, but that amount increases if the providers bid against each other.
By auctioning the frequencies to at least three providers, the ministry wants to guarantee competition in the telecom market. This should ensure “quality, innovation and reasonable prices for consumers and companies.”
This concerns part of the frequencies around 3.5 gigahertz, where antennas have a range of tens of meters. Such antennas can be hung in city streets, for example. Lower frequencies, for a longer range but a lower speed, were already auctioned in 2020 for 1.23 billion euros. These antennas are hung on high transmission masts and now offer 5G coverage in large parts of the Netherlands.
For consumers, the auction means even faster internet: an average of 140 megabits per second, with peaks of 4 gigabit. In the future, 98 percent of every municipality should have 5G coverage.