Germany kicks off "4G" spectrum auction

The German government this week took the lead on the deployment of so-called “4G” technologies with the launch of a spectrum auction involving 360 megahertz of spectrum spread across four bands: 800 MHz, 1.8 GHz, 2 GHz and 2.6 GHz bands.
The government said the frequencies were being awarded “on a technology and services-neutral basis,” though most expect the spectrum to be used to launch networks using LTE-based technologies. This is a different path from past auctions that required winners to launch a specific technology conforming to the majority of European carriers.
The auction is expected to set the tone for upcoming “4G” auctions across Europe.
Six companies had originally applied to participate in the auction, though only four made the final cut. Those qualified bidders include E-Plus Group, Telefonica O2 Germany, T-Mobile and Vodafone D2.
The spectrum up for bids includes 41 frequency blocks split amongst the different bands:
–Six blocks of 2 x 5 megahertz paired spectrum in the 800 MHz band;
–Five blocks of 2 x 5 megahertz paired spectrum in the 1.8 GHz band;
–Four blocks of 2 x 5 megahertz paired spectrum, one block of 1 x 5 megahertz unpaired spectrum and one block of 14.2 megahertz unpaired spectrum in the 2 GHz band;
–14 blocks of 2 x 5 megahertz paired spectrum and 10 blocks of 1 x by unpaired spectrum in the 2.6 GHz band.
The most sought after is expected to be the 800 MHz spectrum that will offer greater propagation characteristics compared to the other bands and thus should require fewer cell sites for nationwide coverage requirements. Most expect the totals to fall well short of the $68 billion in winning bids Germany generated from the auction of 145 megahertz of “3G” spectrum in 2000, with analysts expecting the current auction to generate between $10 billion and $15 billion.
Through round 15, the German auction had generated more than $190 million in top bids.
In the U.S. the government in 2008 auctioned off 80 megahertz of spectrum in the 700 MHz band that generated nearly $20 billion in winning bids. Verizon Wireless and AT&T Mobility won a majority of that spectrum and promptly announced plans to launch LTE-based networks using the spectrum.