Applications validated for 5G: soon a fourth operator in Belgium? Even… five?
Are the apparent lack of competition and the regular increases in telecom prices a thing of the past? Not sure… don’t skip the steps.
But there is hope. The federal telecoms regulator (BIPT) has indeed validated the admissibility of five applications for the auction of the 5G spectrum which will take place in June. Until then, nothing very surprising: five candidates had volunteered, including the Citymesh/Cegeka alliance, active mainly in business networks.
“The auction concerns the allocation of new 5G spectrum and existing 2G and 3G spectrum. This auction scheduled for June 2022 has helped define the mobile telecommunications landscape in Belgium for the next 20 years.“, specifies the BIPT.
Nevertheless, if the candidates remain anonymous for the moment, and this until the sale process (which could bring in several hundreds of millions of euros to the State, moreover), the frequencies likely to have the Belgian telecoms landscape assessed, some, like Test Achats, consider it too uncompetitive.
“Currently, the 900 MHz, 1800 MHz and 2100 MHz radio frequency bands are mainly used for 2G, 3G and 4G applications. Five applications were submitted for these radio frequency bands and all were deemed admissible.“, therefore adds BIPT.
A step in the right direction for competition?
This may suggest that the new candidates may not want to limit themselves to the 5G frequency and therefore potentially expand their activities and compete with the three incumbent consumer operators, Proximus, Orange and Base (Telenet). But that’s just a guess, for now. The fact that this auction allocates frequencies for the next 20 years may push some players to look beyond their initial objective.
“The 3400-3500 MHz band is considered the primary radio frequency band for 5G deployment. It is sometimes referred to as the ‘capacity band’ for 5G, particularly because of the large amount of spectrum available in this band. Also for this radio frequency band, five applications were also submitted and all were deemed admissible.” further specifies BIPT, which adds that it will also be possible for the five candidates “acquire spectrum for 5G in the 700 MHz band. This band is considered a “coverage band” suitable for nationwide coverage and better indoor coverage”.
“Specific requirements are defined per frequency band […] for example: the minimum speed to be provided by each operator via the frequency band in question, the obligations of territorial coverage, the spectrum reserved for existing and new players, the rules regarding the maximum purchase of spectrum per player», wishes to detail the BIPT.
If this does not reveal the will of the candidates or their strategies in this game of competition, the fact of potentially seeing two new players is rather reassuring for the competition, while the next auction will take place in the 2040s…