Turkey has raised an unexpectedly high €3.35bn (US$3.79bn) in its LTE spectrum auction, with all three mobile network operators securing airwaves.
Incumbent Turk Telekom’s (IST:TTKOM) mobile unit Avea, the local unit of UK-based Vodafone(LSE:VOD) and Turkcell (BIST:TCELL) together bought 20 packages of spectrum.
The frequencies are in the 800 MHz, 900 MHz, 1,800 MHz, 2,100 MHz and 2,600 MHz bands, the Information and Communications Technology Authority (ICTA) said in a statement. Licences run from 1 April 2016 to 30 April 2029.
Turkcell acquired the most spectrum, bidding a total €1.62bn (US$1.82bn) for 172.4 MHz. In a statement earlier this week, the operator said its board of directors had authorised management to borrow up to US$3bn for funding infrastructure investment, other potential investment opportunities, and refinancing.
Avea bid a total €955m (US$1.07bn) for 175MHz of bandwidth, and Vodafone Turkey bid €778m (US$874m) for 82.8MHz.
The three operators will have to pay 18% in value-added tax on their total bids.
The government had aimed to raise at least €2.23bn (US$2.5bn) from the auction.
Turkcell said in its own statement that it will commercially launch services using the spectrum on 1 April 2016, noting that it will support internet speeds of up to 375MHz per second.
Vodafone Turkey said its newly-acquired spectrum will enable it to offer “enhanced, 4G-plus data speeds”, significantly improving the speed, coverage and capacity of its mobile services.
Turk Telekom group CEO Rami Aslan described the spectrum auction as a game changer for Turkish mobile.
“The fair access to frequency bands will normalise the industry,” he said. “The real competition starts now. We will turn the game on its head with our fibre optic infrastructure and user experience.”