German spectrum auction raises over €5B

Germany’s hotly contested spectrum auction ended today (19 June), raising €5.08 billion, after 181 rounds and 16 days of bidding.

Vodafone Germany spent the most, bidding a total of approximately €2.1 billion, while Deutsche Telekom and Telefonica Deutschland will spend €1.8 billion and €1.2 billion respectively.

Eventually, Vodafone emerged as the big winner in the hard-fought 1800MHz band. It acquired 2 x 25MHz in the band. Mobile World Live reported yesterday that the company had unexpectedly upped the bidding for 1800MHz spectrum, which in turn drove up prices across the entire auction, according to Stefen Zehle, CEO at Coleago Consulting.

Vodafone said in a statement “the spectrum acquired will enhance Vodafone Germany’s 4G network, increase data capacity and speed on 4G, while improving voice quality on GSM services”.

The three operators were vying for spectrum in the 700MHz, 900MHz, 1500MHz and 1800MHz bands and the auction was expected to be relatively straightforward, given the conditions set by regulator Bundesnetzagentur

It raised 16 per cent more than the proceeds from Germany’s 2010 auction, but comes in far below the €50.8 billion the government raised from 3G licences in 2000, when there were six bidders involved in the process.

Unlike the other bands, spectrum in 700MHz, which has been made available for the first time in Germany, won’t be immediately accessible because it is still being used by television broadcasters. Operators will gain access to these bands next year, once the TV licences expire.

A full table of results is outlined below.

Source: Bundesnetzagentur