The Bundesnetzagentur last month opened the auction procedure for the 5G spectrum in Germany. The auction has 2 GHz and 3.6 GHz frequency ranges, that allow users to have at least 100 Mbps download speed.

The Bundesnetzagentur created final award conditions and auction rules in the 5G spectrum auction, rules that the current 3 operators disagree with. Deutsch Telekom, Telefónica Deutschland, and Vodafone are fighting these preconditions with legal actions.

Bundesnetzagentur is the German authority under the responsibility of the Federal Ministry for Economic Affairs and Energy, and its core tasks include supervising the energy, telecommunications, postal and railway markets.

Jochen Homann, Bundesnetzagentur President, stated that these preconditions are “vital for the digital transformation of industry and society. Through the award of frequencies, we are creating planning and investment certainty, and contributing to a fast, needs-based rollout of the mobile radio network in Germany.”

According to Bundesnetzagentur, the conditions include obligations for better coverage in both urban and rural areas as well as along transport routes, plus measures to promote competition, such as service provider regulations and national roaming requirements.

The qualification procedure is now open following the publication of the

decision. Companies wishing to take part in the auction have until

3.00 pm on 25 January 2019 to submit their applications. The auction is

scheduled for spring 2019.

The roadmap for 5G in Germany

by the end of 2022 , at least 98% of households in each federal state will have at least 100 Mbit/s

, at least 98% of households in each federal state will have at least 100 Mbit/s by the end of 2022 , all federal motorways with a minimum speed of 100 Mbit/s and a maximum speed of 10 milliseconds (ms) Latency

, all federal motorways with a minimum speed of 100 Mbit/s and a maximum speed of 10 milliseconds (ms) Latency by the end of 2022 the federal roads with connection function levels 0 / 1 with at least 100 Mbit/s and at most 10 ms latency,

the federal roads with connection function levels 0 / 1 with at least 100 Mbit/s and at most 10 ms latency, by the end of 2024 , all other federal highways with a minimum speed of 100 Mbit/s and a maximum speed of 10 ms Latency,

, all other federal highways with a minimum speed of 100 Mbit/s and a maximum speed of 10 ms Latency, by the end of 2024 , all national and state roads with at least 50 Mbit/s,

, all national and state roads with at least 50 Mbit/s, by the end of 2024 , the seaports and the core inland waterway network with at least 50 Mbit/s,

, the seaports and the core inland waterway network with at least 50 Mbit/s, by the end of 2022 , railways with more than 2,000 passengers per day with a minimum of 100 Mbps,

, railways with more than 2,000 passengers per day with a minimum of 100 Mbps, by the end of 2024 all other railways with at least 50 Mbit/s to provide for the needs of the people of this country, and until the end of 2022 1,000 “5G base stations” and 500 base stations with at least 100 Mbit/s in white spots to be put into operation.

For newcomers

Different supply conditions apply to newcomers. These have at least 25% of households by the end of 2023, and at least 50% of households by the end of 2025 to provide for the needs of the people of this country.

Newcomers who exclusively purchase 3.6 GHz frequencies have the opportunity to at least 25% of households by the end of 2025 to provide for the needs of the people of this country.

Newcomers who purchase 3.6 GHz frequencies have 1,000 “5G base stations” to establish.