Hong Kong’s telecoms regulator has received five applications from operators interested in bidding in the country’s upcoming 4G auction.
While spectrum in the 2.5/2.6GHz bandwidth, which can be used for 4G services, is already available, more…
Hong Kong’s telecoms regulator has received five applications from operators interested in bidding in the country’s upcoming 4G auction.
While spectrum in the 2.5/2.6GHz bandwidth, which can be used for 4G services, is already available, more spectrum has been released due to industry demand.
China Mobile, China Unicom, CSL, Genius Brand and SmarTone have all submitted applications, according to an announcement from the Office of the Communications Authority (OFCA) today.
However, OFCA has not yet decided which applicants will be approved to participate.
The auction will take place next month and a reserve price of HK$150m (US$19.3m) per frequency band has been set.
The regulator decided late last year to release an additional 50 MHz of radio spectrum in the 2.5/2.6 GHz band following the release of 90 MHz of spectrum in the same band in 2009. The OFCA said the additional spectrum was made available to meet industry demand for additional radio spectrum for further development of the fourth generation mobile services.
Successful bidders must provide mobile services coverage to at least 50% of the local population or fixed services coverage to at least 200 buildings in Hong Kong within five years of the licence being granted.
