Montenegrin regulator EKIP (Agency for Electronic Communications and Postal Services) confirmed that the country’s latest round of spectrum auctions saw 220MHz of frequencies sold.
The auctions were conducted in late December, with spectrum in the 900MHz, 1800MHz, 2GHz and 2.6GHz bands available for bidding. Licences obtained during the auctions are valid between 21st April 2022 and 1st September 2031.
Mtel was the biggest spender, shelling out EUR5.911 million to acquire permits in the 900MHz, 1800MHz, 2GHz and 2.6GHz bands. Meanwhile, Telenor and Crnogorski Telekom each acquired 2.6GHz licences with respective bids of EUR825,011 and EUR350,000. CommsUpdate notes that the auctions generated a total of EUR7.086 million (US$8.027 million), with four 5MHz blocks in the 2.6GHz band – worth around EUR192,000 – going unsold.
Montenegro is gearing up for the implementation of 5G, as evidenced by the government confirming on 24th December that it would follow the 5G deployment strategy developed by EKIP together with the Ministry of Economic Development. The plan is aimed at ensuring that all required measures are met so that 5G mobile networks are introduced by the end of 2022, at which point a national 5G strategy is expected to be in place.
