The nation's top mobile carrier SK Telecom and the second largest KT have been awarded 100 megahertz of bandwidth on the 3.5-gigahertz spectrum each, the maximum amount assigned to one mobile carrier, during a national frequency auction for fifth-generation (5G) networks, according to the Ministry of Science and ICT, Monday.
The smallest player LG Uplus got 80 megahertz of bandwidth on the 3.5-gigahertz band.
The frequency band of 3.5 gigahertz is considered important in building a nationwide network. Market observers expected the three companies to be engaged in a bitter competition during the auction.
But this was less fierce than expected following LG Uplus' decision to take a step back in the end. The final price was lower than that forecast as well, not exceeding 4 trillion won ($3.6 billion)
The auction, which marked a major step forward for the goal of beginning the world's first commercial 5G services in March 2019, took place on Friday and Monday at the Telecommunications Technology Association in Seongnam, Gyeonggi Province.
The ministry auctioned 280 megahertz of bandwidth in the 3.5-gigahertz band, and 2,400 megahertz of bandwidth in the 28-gigahertz band. It set the opening price for the auction of 28 blocks in the 3.5-gigahertz spectrum and 24 blocks in the 28-gigahertz spectrum at 3.3 trillion won.
The minimum bid for the 3.5-gigahertz blocks was 2.65 trillion won with a period of use for 10 years, and for the 28-gigahertz blocks was 621.6 billion won with a period of use for five years.
On the first day of the auction, the three companies took eight blocks in the 28-gigahertz spectrum each, finishing the competition at the opening price _ 25.9 billion won per block.
Compared with the 3.5-gigahertz spectrum, mobile carriers can offer faster speeds in the 28-gigahertz spectrum. As the band has shorter reach, however, companies have to put up more money to build signal stations.
But they failed to wrap up the auction of the 3.5-gigahertz blocks on the first day as 280 megahertz of bandwidth in the 3.5-gigahertz band was up for the auction, meaning that the it was impossible for the three firms to secure the blocks equally as they did in the auction of the 28-gigahertz spectrum.
Until the eighth round of the auction, all of the three firms made a bid for 100 megahertz of bandwidth of the 3.5-gigahertz spectrum, but LG Uplus reduced its goal to 80 megahertz of bandwidth on the ninth round, apparently due to the cost.
Source: http://www.koreatimes.co.kr/www/tech/2018/06/133_250878.html