Internet, Legislation, Lithuania, Technology, Telecomunications

The auction commission on January 27th identified the highest bids in the auction of 900 MHz and 1800 MHz radio frequency bands.

Feliksas Dobrovolskis, RRT director, told BNS that Omnitel had won the right to be the first to choose the frequency blocks offered. Tele2 was second and Bite Lietuva was third.

In total, the bidders would pay 38.1 million euros for the right to use the frequency bands concerned, the authority said.

Operators would have to pay 20 percent of their bid prices this year and the remaining amount would be paid in instalments over 15 years, Dobrovolskis said without specifying the amounts that would be paid by each company.

The bidders competed for the right to be the first to choose one of the blocks on offer. The initial price of each block was set at 10 million euros and the price ceiling was set at 80 million euros.

Licenses to use the 900 MHz and 1800 MHz frequency bands will be valid between Nov. 1, 2017 and Oct. 31, 2032. Bite Lietuva, Omnitel and Tele2 hold the rights to use these bands until the end of October 2017.