France Gets €2.8 Billion from Spectrum Sale

France closed spectrum auction after three days of bidding. Orange, SFR, Bouygues Telecom and Iliad committed a total of €2.8 billion in the auction of frequencies in the 3.4GHz and 3.8GHz band, which regulator Arcep stated was ended after all 11 blocks of 10MHz on offer were bid for.

Orange bid €854 million for a total of 90MHz; SFR €728 million on 80MHz, with Bouygues Telecom and Free Mobile (Iliad) each bidding €602 million for 70MHz. "We are very satisfied with the result. We have just taken an essential step forward in making the networks of the future a reality,“ said Orange CEO Stephane Richard.

Arcep plans to conduct a frequency position process this month, the final step before it issues licences. It noted the price paid for each 10MHz block reached €126 million, far exceeding the €70 million reserve price. Operators will receive an additional 50MHz block offered at a fixed price of €350 million. Licensees are required to activate 5G service on 3,000 sites by end-2022, 8,000 by end-2024 and 10,500 by end-2025.