Four bidders are confirmed for the Republic of Cyprus’ upcoming 5G mobile spectrum licence auction scheduled for 17 December 2020, the Financial Mirror reported. The bidders include the three incumbent mobile network operators (MNOs) Cyta (Cytamobile-Vodafone), Epic and PrimeTel, alongside Cablenet, which currently offers an MVNO-based mobile service bundled with its cable broadband internet/TV/fixed line network services. Six 2×5MHz lots in the 700MHz band and eight 50MHz lots in the 3.6GHz band are up for grabs, via four concessions stipulating deployment of 5G networks covering 70% of the population alongside all major highways by 31 December 2025. The auction is being conducted by the Department of Electronic Communications (DEC) under the Ministry of Research, Innovation and Digital Policy.
DEC head George Komodromos told the Financial Mirror that delays in the 5G tender process were caused by extensions granted to interested parties for credit facilities because of the ‘high’ reserve price for each licence – CYP6 million (USD12.4 million) – while other extensions were granted after authorities received new guidelines from the EU on cybersecurity.