The Dutch government expects to raise at least 900 million euros ($992 million) from its first auction of 5G frequencies, which will take place next summer.
Dutch Secretary of State for Economic Affairs Mona Keijzer said in a statement that the 5G auction will take place by June 30. The auction will include spectrum in the 700 MHz 1,400 MHz and 2,100 MHz bands.
The process will be carried out through several rounds. The country’s three largest operator — KPN, Vodafone Ziggo and T-Mobile Netherlands — are all expected to take part in the 5G auction.
The Dutch government also said that some equipment suppliers could be banned from the future deployment of 5G networks if they raise security concerns.
“Critical components of the network may only be provided by reliable vendors,” Keijzer said.
Some European governments are currently considering whether they will allow Chinese vendor Huawei to participate in 5G contracts, in the face of ongoing allegations by the United States that the company could be a tool used by Beijing for spying purposes. Huawei has repeatedly denied such allegations.
The Dutch government did not specifically mention Huawei but noted that if a vendor was suspected to be an espionage risk, operators will be ordered to exclude them from network deployments. Keijzer also said the action would “protect networks against unreliable suppliers.”
Specifically, a vendor will be banned if “suspected that it can misuse or drop out the Dutch telecom infrastructure and services. Or if there is a close connection with or legal control by foreign authorities or third parties such as companies and intelligence services involved in espionage, influencing or sabotage, with this party.”
The Dutch government also expects to carry out a spectrum auction to award frequencies in the 3.5 GHz band in 2022, as the band is currently being used for satellite communications by Dutch intelligence services.
KPN has recently tested 5G technology between multiple locations in the Netherlands. Phone calls, video calls and data sessions were conducted from the latest 5G smartphones between the 5G indoor network in the Johan Cruijff Arena in Amsterdam, the 5G Field Lab in the Port of Rotterdam and the Technology Lab of KPN in The Hague. KPN used 3.5 GHz frequencies for these recent tests.
The operator also announced 5G tests using spectrum in the 700 MHz,3.5 GHz and 26 GHz bands.
Also, Vodafone Ziggo has been carrying out 5G trials in partnership with Ericsson in Maastrich earlier this year.
In October, T-Mobile Netherlands announced it will start to test 5G on the 700 MHz frequency, after it received two test licenses from the government. T-Mobile was granted a regional two-month test license for testing on the entire 700 MHz band in the Hague region and surrounding areas.
