Hong Kong's Office of the Communications Authority raised HK$1 billion after it auctioned off a total of 200 MHz of 5G spectrum to four mobile network operators, The Standard reported.
China Mobile Hong Kong Co. Ltd. secured the 60 MHz bandwidth in the 3.5 GHz frequency band with an HK$300 million bid. Hong Kong Telecommunications (HKT) Ltd. and SmarTone Telecommunications Holdings Ltd. both won 50 GHz bandwidth for HK$252 million each, while Hutchison Telecommunications (Hong Kong) Ltd. obtained 40 MHz bandwidth for HK$202 million.
HKT is eyeing the second quarter of 2020 to offer 5G services, while SmarTone aims to launch 5G services soon after the spectrum becomes available. The spectrum will be assigned from April 1, 2020, and remain valid for 15 years.
Hong Kong will hold three 5G spectrum auctions this year, with a total bandwidth of 380 MHz. The next spectrum sale will happen later this month, with the last auction to be held in November.