All three Ukrainian operators («Kyivstar», Vodafone Ukraine and lifecell) have informed the telecom regulator NCCIR of their interest in buying licenses for an additional 4G frequency band — 2.3 GHz. There is 40 MHz of spectrum available in this band.
After analyzing the demand, the regulator will propose to the Cabinet of Ministers to approve the amount of license fees for each of the bands under study. In addition to 2.3 GHz, there are also 2.1 GHz and 2.6 GHz bands. After that, the procedural part of the tender begins, which lasts approximately 4 months.
Currently, the nominal price for 1 MHz in the 2355-2400 MHz band is UAH 985 thousand in each region. Thus, the cost of a license for a 40 MHz band in 27 regions for a period of 5 years exceeds UAH 1 billion.
Currently, there is already one application for the 2.6 GHz band. «Cable TV Finance», a subsidiary of Vodafone Ukraine, has applied to the NCCC to cancel its license for the outdated technology «Multiservice Radio Access» in the 2575-2610 MHz band and issue a new license in the same band to develop modern mobile communications technologies. If the demand for this band exceeds one application, a tender will also have to be held.
At the same time, the regulator accepted applications for interest in 2.1 GHz frequencies until February 15. They previously belonged to 3G operator «Trimob».
Source: dev.ua