News
Mobile operators have two weeks to pay for 800-MHz and 2.6-GHz spectrum they won in October.
Poland’s telecom regulator on Monday announced that it has formally allocated the LTE spectrum it auctioned off last year, meaning the winning operators now have two weeks to pay for their frequencies.
However, there seems to be some doubt as to whether all the auction winners will pay up.
The allocation of 190 MHz of new spectrum in the 800-MHz and 2.6-GHz bands means everyone in the country will have access to high-speed broadband services, whether they are in urban or non-urban areas, the Office of Electronic Communications (UKE) said.
The UKE finally brought its LTE spectrum auction to a close in October after more than eight months of bidding.
The process raised 9.23 billion zloty (€2.18 billion), the bulk of which – PLN8.62 billion – was spent on 800-MHz frequencies.
The biggest spender in the auction was Orange, which acquired two blocks of 800-MHz airwaves for PLN3.05 billion, plus three blocks of 2.6-GHz frequencies. Its total bill came in at PLN3.17 billion (€748 million).
T-Mobile, Netnet and P4 each acquired one lot of 800-MHz spectrum, paying PLN2.02 billion, PLN2.05 billion and PLN1.5 billion respectively. T-Mobile also picked up three lots of 2.6-GHz spectrum and P4 four lots, raising their total spend to PLN2.14 billion and PLN1.72 billion.
Polkomtel paid PLN155.7 million (€36.8 million) for four blocks of spectrum in the 2.6 GHz band.
Those operators must now pay the sums they pledged for their spectrum, but according to local news reports, there is some doubt over whether Netnet will hand over the cash.
Last week Parkiet quoted UKE president Magdalena Gaj as saying that the regulator has worked out a solution for a scenario in which Netnet declines to meet its commitment to buying the 800-MHz spectrum it won. She declined to say more until all the facts are clear, the newspaper said.
The uncertainty seems to stem from potential spectrum-sharing agreements with Polkokmtel and owner Cyfrowy Polsat, and their willingness to work with Netnet. However, the details are unclear at this stage.
