Taiwanese regulator NCC has set the floor price for the nation’s second 4G auction at TW$14.4 billion ($460.4 million), and aims to complete the auction process by the end of the year.
The regulator is preparing to auction off spectrum in the 2.5-GHz and 2.6-GHz bands, and will accept applications for the auction by September, The China Post reported.
In total six licenses will be issued, and the NCC has set starting prices for the six blocks of spectrum at between TW$700 million and TW$3.7 billion.
Mobile operators still reeling from the intensely competitive 4G auction of 2013 - which raised $118.65 billion ($3.79 billion) for a total of 2.3 times the reserve price – are expected to be more cautious with the bidding this time around.
But the fact that five operators will be participating and Wimax operators may also throw their hats in the ring suggests that bidding could still prove to be intense.
The regulator has projected that the auction will raise between TW$15 billion and TW$30 billion, but China Post sources expect bidding to reach as high as TW$50 billion.
While the auction may prove essential for Taiwanese operators struggling with spectrum scarcity, experts doubt that the new auction will result in significant changes to 4G connection speeds or 4G service prices.