European Commission calls on Dutch government to speed up auctioning of 5G frequencies

The Netherlands must speed up its efforts to ensure that the roll-out of 5G is not delayed. The European Commission is asking the Netherlands, but also Croatia, to submit a roadmap for the use of the 700 MHz frequency band. They have to clear them to enable the roll-out of 5G.

The European Commission has issued a letter of formal notice to the Dutch and Croatian governments to this effect. Member States were supposed to have a step-by-step plan in place by the end of June 2018 to free up the frequency bands. It appears that this has not yet happened, which may delay the roll-out of 5G here.

Running behind

The European Commission considers it important to free up the 700 MHz frequency band in order to increase coverage. The frequency is above all necessary for the roll-out of 5G in outdoor areas, because it is a relatively low frequency. As a result, the potential area to be covered is larger.

The other frequencies on which 5G will operate are 3.5GHz and 28GHz, but these are high and therefore offer a smaller coverage area. This makes the frequency bands less suitable for a large area. However, these high frequencies offer a higher speed, which makes it extra suitable for 5G. Because the European Commission wants a working 5G network in Europe by 30 June 2020, countries must have auctioned the necessary frequency bands by then. Because the Netherlands and Croatia have not yet announced a step-by-step plan for the auctioning of these frequencies, this could be delayed.

According to Tweakers, the Dutch government wants to auction the frequencies next year, although this is still fairly ambitious. Delays would be possible, especially as the European Commission is still looking at the possible merger of T-Mobile and Tele2.