The Government appears to have listened to industry, with a long licence duration and spectrum caps that allow the three largest MNOs to obtain a significant part of the band
An award in line with other neighbouring countries: The Spanish Government will award the 700MHz band next month. Bidders will be able to register their interest up until 2 July, with the auction itself due to start on 21 July. As is the case with this band, 2x30MHz is up for auction (two lots of 2x10MHz each, and two of 2x5MHz each). There is also 15MHz TDD on offer, divided in three 5MHz lots, although auctions that took place in other countries suggest that operators have relatively limited interest in TDD spectrum in this band. Our 5G Tracker indicates that TDD spectrum in the 700MHz band has been offered in six out of 17 countries that have awarded it so far, and only in three cases have operators actually bought these airwaves.
The Government has listened to industry: The Government touted an “almost unique” consultation process leading to the approval of the licence conditions. There are certainly two aspects in which the Government appears to have taken industry’s positions on board. Firstly, the overall reserve price is just shy of €1bn, which is a 15% reduction compared to the proposal in December 2020. Secondly, the length of the licences has been significantly extended. While the initial length remains 20 years (in line with the first proposal), there is now an option to renew the licence for an additional 20 years. This brings Spain close to the approach adopted in the UK, where operators in practice have licences of indefinite duration. Of the 17 European countries we’ve tracked, only two have set the licence duration of 700MHz spectrum beyond 20 years (Austria and Sweden).
The three largest MNOs could obtain all the spectrum: Competition measures will apply to the award. No operator will be able to obtain more than 2x15MHz in the 700MHz FDD band, and hold more than 2x35MHz across the 700MHz, 800MHz, and 900MHz bands. This still leaves Orange, Telefonica, and Vodafone each able to bid for at least 2x10MHz of this spectrum – the three operators respectively hold 2x20MHz, 2x25MHz, and 2x20MHz across the 800MHz and 900MHz bands. No lots are reserved for new entrants, and it remains to be seen whether Masmovil will finally seek to obtain sub-GHz airwaves, since it remains the only operator in the country without it.
Source: https://portal.mineco.gob.es/es-es/comunicacion/Paginas/210531_np_5g.aspx
