The Ministry of Information and Communications (MIC) on October 25 announced a plan to auction rights to use the 2500-2600 MHz bands for 15 years.

Within 30 days since the day MIC publicized the plan to organize the auction, institutions that want to attend must submit dossiers, requesting confirmation of meeting the requirements to the Authority of Telecommunications.

The submission can be implemented via the online public service system, postal service or direct submission.

Two years after obtaining the license to use the 2500-2600 MHz wavebands, businesses have to commit to build at least 3,000 5G BTS (base transceiver stations) using the frequency band; to officially provide terrestrial mobile telecommunications services using the wavebands no later than 12 months after the licensing day. Businesses also have to pledge to ensure the quality of telecommunication and roaming services as required by law.

The starting price for the auction of the 2500-2600 MHz wavebands is defined in  Article 18 of Decree 63/2023. The exact price is VND3,983,818,500,000.

Those who plan to attend the auction for the wavebands have to pay a deposit of VND200,000,000,000. The collection and handling of deposits will be implemented under Article 39 of the Law on Asset Auction. 

Within three working days from the date MIC approves the auction results, the Authority of Radio Frequency Management will notify the auction winning organizations about the fees and charges they have to pay to obtain the license for telecommunication service providing and the license for using the wavebands as stipulated by Decree 63.

In April 2023, MIC made public and graded dossiers from telecom carriers which registered to attend the bid to use A1 waveband block (2300 – 2330 Mhz), A2 (2330 – 2360 Mhz), and A3 (2360 – 2390 Mhz). The starting price was VND5.798 trillion, and the time usage 15 years.

Experts said other telecom carriers could attend the upcoming auction. As such, the mobile market would have had new players who can satisfy the requirements and use 4G and 5G technologies. The companies using the 2300-2400 MHz waveband can provide telecommunications service using IMT-Advanced (4G) or IMT-2020 (5G).

MIC organized auctions for 2300 MHz, which three waveband blocks  A1(2300-2330 MHz), A2 (2330-2360 MHz) and A3 (2360-2390 MHz), on May 15, May 25 and June 2, 2023. However, the auctions failed as there was no registration.

Thai Khang