Bids in Brazil’s multi-band spectrum auction exceeded 850 million reais, the country’s telecoms regulator reported this week.
Companies bid a total of BRL852.67 million (€198 million) for airwaves in the 1800-MHz, 1900-MHz, and 2.5-GHz bands, Anatel revealed.
A and B block spectrum attracted the most interest, with monies committed coming in at BRL762.67 million. C block spectrum lots, which were designed to encourage player to roll out services at a municipal level, added BRL89.9 million to the total, Anatel said.
Nextel was the big spender in the A and B block contest, lodging bids totalling BRL455 million (€105 million). Telefonica, which operates as Vivo in Brazil, came in second at BRL185.45 million, while America Movil’s Claro and Telecom Italia’s TIM committed BRL61.86 million and BRL56.5 million respectively.
Brazil’s fourth-largest mobile operator Oi did not take part in the contest.
Anatel said it is still analysing the documentation submitted in the C block contest, but its preliminary assessment shows that 324 companies acquired 5,479 spectrum lots. In total, there were 20,000 lots available.
