Germany’s controversial 5G spectrum auction attracted €332 million worth of leading bids by the end of the opening day, with a further €10 million added in the early hours of day two as the country’s operators vie to secure prime assets.

By the end of the tenth round of bidding (around 10am CET today), Telefonica Deutschland, Vodafone Germany, Deutsche Telekom and newcomer 1&1 Drillisch had all submitted offers for blocks across the 2GHz and 3.6GHz ranges. Only one lot of 3.6GHz had failed to attract a bid.

As of round 10, 1&1 Drillisch had booked €123 million worth of leading bids across 7 of the 41 available lots.

Opening the auction yesterday, Bundesnetzagentur president Jochen Homann (pictured) said: “5G enables Germany to take the step into the digital future and it is good that the auction is now beginning and we can thus promote the further expansion of mobile networks in Germany. The auction places the decision as to which frequencies are important in the hands of the companies, and companies should use their bidding behaviour to show what they value the frequencies.”

He added: “Maximising revenue is not the goal of the Federal Network Agency.”

Minimum bids of between €1.7 million and €5 million applied to each lot, though authorities have refused to place an estimate on how much the country hopes to raise from the process.

Media in Germany estimate the sale could take several weeks to complete.

Winning bidders will have to adhere to a number of strict, and divisive, terms and coverage targets; a policy which led to all three existing operators filing law suits against the conditions.