Telenor and Teliasonera were the winners of the Norwegian spectrum auction, netting the public coffers 877 million Noregian Krone (€94.4 million).
The auction lasted seven days and 83 rounds of bidding for the 1800MHz spectrum up for grabs. Telennor spent NOK585 million (€62.9 million) on 2x10MHz of spectrum.
Teliasonera won 2x5MHz, spending NOK292 million (€31.4 million) in the process.
Norway’s third operator, Ice, also took part in the auction but came away empty handed.
The sale was of unsold spectrum from the multiband auction in December 2013.
Operators have yet to hear of where exactly on the 1800MHz band the spectrum will sit. Both Telenor and Teliasonera have until 20 January to negotiate their positions. If they cannot reach an agreement, the placement will be decided by an assignment auction.
Globally 1800MHz spectrum is the most common frequency used for LTE, thanks to a healthy device ecosystem and the band’s mix of capacity and coverage.
Telenor Norway will use the spectrum to boost its existing LTE offering. It is planning to turn off its 3G network in 2020 and decommission its 2G network by 2025.
In its place, the operator will offer nationwide VoLTE coverage.