Vodafone PLC pays €350mln for 5G bandwidth in Spain

Vodafone PLC’s () Spanish arm paid €350mln to acquire bandwidth in the 5G auction undertaken by the Spanish Ministry of Economic Affairs and Digital Transformation (MINEC’).

The total amount for the 2×10 MHz of spectrum in the 700Mhz band will be payable in a single instalment with a licensing fee of €15.5mln payable each year.

The spectrum acquired has initial holding rights until 2041, with an automatic renewal with no additional fees for a further 20 years (until 2061), subject to meeting the licence obligations.   

Colman Deegan, Vodafone Spain’s chief executive, said:  “The new 5G frequencies acquired today will enable Vodafone Spain to accelerate the deployment of our leading 5G network in the coming months, ensuring that consumers and businesses can take advantage of digital transformation opportunities to support economic recovery after the pandemic.”

In the first stage UK auction, Vodafone paid £174mln for bandwidth in the 3.6-3.8Mhz band.