Swedish operators plan wider 5G deployment as spectrum auctions close

Swedish telecommunications operators intend to deploy 5G technology across nearly the entire country in up to three years, Reuters reported Jan. 20.

This comes as telecommunications regulator Swedish Post and Telecom Authority, or PTS, initiated and concluded a spectrum auction focused on licenses in the 3.5 GHz and 2.3 GHz bands. PTS had estimated the auction would take between two and 10 days, but demand was such that it concluded in just one.

Four bidders — CK Hutchison Holdings Ltd.'s Hi3G Access AB, Teracom Group AB's Teracom AB, Net4Mobility HB and Telia Co. AB's Telia Sverige AB — won licenses in the two frequency bands. The auction fetched about 2.32 billion Swedish krona, or US$275.7 million, PTS said in a press release.

Hi3G Access, Net4Mobility and Telia Sverige all won licenses in the 3.5 GHz band, while Teracom picked up licenses covering 80 MHz of spectrum in the 2.3 GHz band.

Across the globe, mid-band spectrum is seen as crucial for 5G since high-band spectrum cannot travel long distances or penetrate certain surfaces and low-band spectrum has become crowded due to 4G wireless services.

Sweden's Supreme Administrative Court had recently dismissed Huawei Technologies Co. Ltd.'s appeal against the regulator's move to exclude it from Sweden's 5G deployment over security concerns. A court ruling had initially suspended parts of the ban, but the agency had filed an appeal.

As of Jan. 19, US$1 was equivalent to 8.35 Swedish kronor.