Norwegian communications regulator the National Communications Authority (Nasjonal kommunikasjonsmyndighet, Nkom) has published an updated list of buildings where broadband services should be offered as part of voluntary coverage obligation linked to its recent auction of 5G-suitable spectrum.
As previously reported by CommsUpdate, winning bidders in Nkom’s sale of 2.6GHz and 3.6GHz frequencies – which closed last month – were given the option of accepting a voluntary commitment to provide broadband services with down/uplink speeds of 100Mbps/10Mbps in underserved/unserved rural areas. Doing so discounted the final price of the spectrum won by any company that accepted this voluntary obligation.
Now, Nkom has published an updated list of the residential and commercial premises where such services should be offered as part of the voluntary coverage obligation. With the regulator stating that its updated overview is based on a coverage survey for 2021, it noted that it has removed from the list properties that are expected to be covered by commercial network rollout plans. Having also reportedly considered information from county municipalities about which buildings have received broadband support in recent years, Nkom has confirmed that around 48,000 premises are included in its updated overview. Nkom did, however, note that as of October 2021 the updated development overview lacks information on where broadband support has been provided in Trondelag, and said it aims to update the overview as soon as this information is received.
Looking further ahead, the regulator has confirmed that it plans to update the overview again in December 2022, while further reviews are scheduled for December 2023 and December 2024.