This week, the Polish telecoms authority, Office of Electronic Communications (Urzad Komunikacji Elektronicznej, UKE), confirmed that all four national mobile operators have placed their initial bids for the highly-anticipated 5G spectrum in the 3.5GHz band. Poland and the Netherlands are the only two countries in the EU left without available 3.5GHz band operators, albeit unintentionally.
Preparations to auction the 3.5GHz spectrum band have been in the works since 2020. However, the momentum was interrupted by the onslaught of the COVID-19 pandemic, causing significant delays to numerous spectrum auctions worldwide. Subsequent delays surfaced, this time attributed to the uncertainty concerning the Polish government’s amendments to the Act on the National Cybersecurity System. Such changes could potentially limit the choice of 5G vendors for operators.
The amendment discussions continue today. Nevertheless, UKE decided to press on with the auction process, raising concerns that Poland would lag compared to neighboring countries in the realm of 5G capabilities. In December 2022, the regulator initiated the first public consultation, followed by a second discussion in April of this year.
As a consequence, the allotment of spectrum for every license increased from 80MHz to 100MHz, while the reserve price for each block remained constant at PLN450 million, approximately $108 million. The auction finally commenced and is anticipated to wrap up over the next couple of weeks.
