Vodafone spends big in Hungary spectrum sell-off

Vodafone spends big in Hungary spectrum sell-off

Hungary's telecoms watchdog has announced the results of its just-finished spectrum sale, in which Vodafone emerged as the largest spender.

Vodafone and Digi were the only two bidders for the spectrum in the 3.4GHz-3.8GHz band. Together they spent €2.9 million on the frequencies.

The bidding has left Vodafone as the owner of the biggest slice of spectrum in Hungary.

Vodafone spent 72% of the total amount, HUF648.6, million for 60MHz of spectrum between 3.4GHz and 3.6GHz.

Digi's HUF248 million spend secured it 20MHz of spectrum at 3.6GHz-3.4 GHz.

The frequencies in question will be licensed to the winners until 2034, said Hungary’s regulatory board. 

Digi, a new-entry cable TV company, is still in the process of building out its mobile network in Hungary. 

Digi managing director Ryszka Sambor said that the newly-acquired frequencies would help with the build out of their network, enabling Digi to provide a better quality and higher capacity infrastructure.

Vodafone Hungary's Pál Marchhart said the spectrum would help the company deal with the growing demand for high-speed mobile services.

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