Seven companies applied to participate in the 5G spectrum auction in the Czech Republic, the country's communications regulator announced. The auction will progress as planned after legal bids to hold the sale were dismissed.
Czech Telecommunication Office (CTO) said terms of the auction prevented it from naming the parties which had submitted applications. The country is keen to attract a fourth mobile operator to increase competition to local units of T-Mobile, Vodafone and O2, with the ultimate aim of reducing data prices for consumers.
An auction has been delayed several times over the last two years, originally due to a request by the European Commission based on its objections to a network sharing deal in the country. Following the release of the auction terms in August, all three operators filed legal action against some of the CTO’s conditions.
In its statement announcing the bidders the CTO noted measures filed with the court in order to stop the selection process have already been rejected. The date for the start of the auction is yet to be publicly disclosed.
Nokia and SURF, the organization for IT in Dutch education and research, have successfully reached a single carrier 800Gb/s optical transmission over SURF’s existing cross-border, multi-vendor research and education network infrastructure.
Nokia and Vodafone are collaborating to test the viability of L4S technology over passive optical networks (PON).
The GSMA believes that critical reform of European laws is necessary to position the region as a technology frontrunner by 2030.
