The first Dutch auction of 5G spectrum is scheduled to be carried out this summer, with the national government expecting to earn over 900 million euros ($992 million).

Mona Keijzer, Dutch Secretary of State for Economic Affairs, announced that the multi-band auction will be carried out by the end of June and will include frequencies in the 700 MHz, 1,400 MHz, and 2,100 MHz bands.

The auction process will consist of several rounds, with the three major Dutch mobile operators — KPN, Vodafone Ziggo and T-Mobile Netherlands — all expected to participate.

Keijzer also emphasized that only reliable suppliers are allowed to provide key components of the 5G network. Having said that, certain equipment providers might be prohibited from the future distribution of 5G networks if any security issues are raised.

At the moment, a few European governments are debating whether Huawei should be allowed to take part in 5G contracts. The Chinese tech giant has recently been accused by the United States of spying for the Chinese government. However, the company keeps denying these allegations.

Although Huawei was not explicitly named by the Dutch government, they stated that any supplier accused of posing an espionage risk will be excluded from future network deployments in order to protect networks against untrustworthy vendors.

The Dutch government is also planning to organize an auction for frequencies in the 3.5 GHz band in 2022. At the moment, it is being used by Dutch intelligence services for satellite communications.

KPN has recently conducted tests of 5G technology between different locations across the country. The newest 5G smartphones were used to complete phone calls, video calls and data sessions between the 5G indoor network in the Johan Cruijff Arena in Amsterdam, the 5G Field Lab in the Port of Rotterdam and the KPN Technology Lab located in The Hague. 3.5 GHz frequencies were used for the purpose of these tests.

The mobile operator also announced 5G trials using frequencies in the 700 MHz, 3.5 GHz and 26 GHz bands.

Vodafone Ziggo has also been conducting tests in Maastricht in cooperation with Ericsson in Maastricht.

Last October, T-Mobile Netherlands made an announcement that it was going to begin 5G tests with the use of the 700 MHz frequency, after it was granted two test licenses by the government.

Source: rcrwireless.com