FILE PHOTO: A 5G sign is seen during the Mobile World Congress in Barcelona, Spain February 28, 2018. REUTERS/Yves Herman

FRANKFURT (Reuters) - Germany’s Federal Network Agency (BNetzA) said on Monday it would award frequencies for local 5G networks in the second half of this year, in a policy targeting industrial uses of the high-speed mobile technology.

Companies will be able to apply for spectrum in the 3.7-3.8 Gigaherz band, the BNetzA said in a statement. This process is separate to the auction of national 5G licenses that is planned to start on March 19.

“There is great potential for 5G, especially in the industrial area,” BNetzA President Jochen Homann said in a statement. “We want to make frequencies available for companies to build local networks that exactly meet their needs.”

Several major industrial groups, including Volkswagen, Daimler Siemens and BASF say they are interested in local 5G spectrum to run ‘connected’ facilities.