Spain spectrum sale seen raising up to 2 bln euros

 

The Spanish government expects to raise up to 2.0 billion euros from the auction of new mobile telephony spectrum starting in May, the government said on Friday.

Most of the frequencies have become available after Spain's analogue TV switch-off last year, and will boost spectrum available for fast-growing 4G smartphone services by 70%.

The bulk of the sale process will take place via a public auction, the Industry Ministry said in a statement, and the amounts can be paid in two tranches, half this year and half next, helping to boost Spain's public coffers.

The government expects a further 1.0 billion euros in private investment from the move, plus the creation of 40,000 jobs.

Similar auctions have taken place elsewhere in Europe.

The sale will allow operators such as Telefonica, Vodafone and Orange to roll out more smartphones with sophisticated computing ability and web connectivity, one of the few areas for mobile growth as revenues from voice and message services decline.