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Spain's 3rd and 4th mobile operators - Orange and Yoigo - look set to secure more mobile telecoms spectrum after no other rivals presented offers in an auction held by the Spanish government.
France Telecom-owned Orange has pledged 433 million euros investment in Spanish telecoms infrastructure over three years in return for a block of 900 MHz bandwidth, the industry ministry said on Monday.
The government set a 126 million euros minimum price on a key frequency for mobile reception. The block also carries a licence fee of 126 million euros.
Spain's fourth mobile operator Yoigo, run by Scandinavia's TeliaSonera, was also the lone bidder for 1800 MHz, promising 300 million euros over a three-year period, five times the 60 million minimum, in addition to the 42 million licence fee.
The government will announce whether the pair's bids are successful on June 2.
"It is definitely looking good," said Yoigo chief executive Johan Andsjo, who attended the opening of sealed bids.
Gaining the spectrum would allow the firm to decrease the amount it rents the network of Spain's no.1 mobile operator Telefonica.
"It means we will have the opportunity to lower our production costs as well as to launch new services such as 4G," said Andsjo.
Spain's two largest mobile operators, Telefonica's Movistar and Vodafone, were barred from the contest, designed to allocate spectrum between operators up to 2030 as companies gear up for a sourge in demand for data downloads.