Dutch incumbent KPN has pledged to take a ‘disciplined value-driven approach’ to the forthcoming wireless spectrum auction in Germany.
In a position paper, KPN said that its E-Plus subsidiary is interested in new spectrum to increase capacity and…
Dutch incumbent KPN has pledged to take a ‘disciplined value-driven approach’ to the forthcoming wireless spectrum auction in Germany.
In a position paper, KPN said that its E-Plus subsidiary is interested in new spectrum to increase capacity and coverage in the German market, where it is also planning to improve its image. E-Plus is marketed as a cheaper alternative to T-Mobile, Vodafone and O2 and while this has been successful to some extent, the quality of E-Plus’ network and service has been called into question.
The auction of 800MHz frequencies begins on April 12 and the acquisition of additional spectrum would enable increased broadband data network coverage. All four of Germany’s mobile operators will compete for the spectrum, which will be a vital component of 4G rollout in the future.
In 2000 Germany sold six 3G licences for a total of more than E50bn. The latest auction will adopt the same simultaneous multi-round format. Following each round of bids, Germany’s regulator will publish the highest bid and the name of the bidder. KPN also said that E-Plus expects to obtain ‘a valuable combination of spectrum due to the large available amount of spectrum’ and that it would complete coverage and capacity upgrades even without 800MHz spectrum.
The four bidding operators are expected to spend around E1bn each in the auction, in which 1.8Ghz, 2.1Ghz and 2.6Ghz frequency slots will also be for sale.