Taiwan 5G auction finally ends after 261 rounds of bidding

Photo by Sanga Park

CommsUpdate: Taiwan’s auction of 5G-suitable spectrum, which got underway last month, has ended after 261 rounds of bidding, raising a total of TWD138.081 billion (USD4.6 billion). At the end of the first phase of the spectrum sale process, all five of the country’s existing wireless network operators were confirmed to have secured new frequencies, with the biggest spender being Chungwha Telecom, which secured a total of 90MHz in the 3.5GHz band for TWD45.675 billion, and 600MHz in the 28GHz band for TWD618 million.

Far EasTone and Taiwan Mobile also secured spectrum in both the 3.5GHz and 28GHz bands, with the former spending TWD40.600 billion on an 80MHz block in the lower band and TWD412 million on 400MHz at 28GHz, while the latter bid TWD30.450 billion on a 60MHz 3.5GHz block and TWD206 million on 200MHz in the 28GHz band. Rounding out the successful bidders, Taiwan Star was the only other company to secure 3.5GHz frequencies, agreeing to pay TWD19.708 billion for a 40MHz block, while Asia Pacific Telecom (APT) snapped up a 400MHz block in the 28GHz band for TWD412 million. There were, however, no bids for a 20MHz block of spectrum in the 1800MHz band.

Looking ahead, the National Communications Commission (NCC) has said it now expects the second phase of the spectrum sale process to take place on 21 February, with this designed to finalise the position of frequencies for winning operators.

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