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5G is the new black in the world increasingly connected to mobile devices. It provides faster mobile gaming, but also smart insulin syringes, sensors that indicate when to sand a road, and connected locks that are closed with a remote control. Ericsson estimates that 5 billion things and machines will be connected directly to the network by 2025, compared to just over a billion today. As the industry increasingly uses technology, so do the safety requirements.
But first, space is needed for radio waves in the air, and on November 10, the spectrum will be auctioned for the Swedish market. There is space in two different frequency bands, they are called 3.5 and 2.3 Ghz respectively, which are for sale.
– The purpose of the allocation is to maximize the benefit to society over time, preserve or enhance competition while protecting the use that already exists on or alongside current frequencies, says Petter Öhrn, Press Officer at PTS.
The auction has been postponed several times, which has been criticized, among others, by the CEO of Ericsson, Börje Ekholm. But now Säpo, the Swedish Armed Forces and the Swedish Post and Telecommunications Agency (PTS) have made their review of the operators who want to participate.
Most interesting here is the interpretation of a new section in the Electronic Communications Act, which blocks those whose use of the radio “can be assumed to cause damage to the security of Sweden.” It’s there because 5G is considered critical and valuable infrastructure.
There is little chance that the four main operators Telia, Tele2, Telenor and Tre will win a place in the auction. More interesting is what may not be revealed on Tuesday, if Huawei is included as a supplier to any of the operators, in the same way that they previously delivered 4G technology.
The Chinese companyEricsson’s strongest competitor is already blacklisted in the US, Australia and the UK, but denies any accusations of spying on new 5G networks.
The auction takes place over the Internet and is estimated to take at least ten business days. 15 blocks of 20 MHz are sold to the highest bidder in the 3.5 GHz band, eight 10 MHz blocks in the 2.3 GHz band. Operators are prohibited from coordinating the tender in a process that is highly regulated. The theories behind how to design an effective auction earned him the Nobel Prize in Economics this year.
The lowest bid is SEK 100 million on the 3.5 GHz band and SEK 20 million on the other. The previous 5G auction, in December 2018, returned a total of just over 2.8 billion. The frequencies being auctioned now are considered to be significantly more desirable.
– No, we do not speculate on the total amount of the auction proceeds, writes Petter Öhrn from PTS in an email to DN.
Also read: Säpo examines Swedish construction of 5G
