Belgium Cleared Five Bidders for 5G Mobile Licence Auction

Belgian telecommunications regulators announced on Tuesday that it has cleared five operators in the country's fifth-generation (5G) mobile license auction in June, which is set to bring the fourth company into the market as well. 

The government has previously stated that it encourages its fourth competitor to intensify its competition with its largest operators, Proximus, Orange Belgium and Telenet's BASE.

Industry regulator IBPT-BIPT said in a statement, “Five mobile operators applied for the future auction and all were declared eligible after the examination.” The regulator also said that the auction will define the country’s mobile landscape for the next 20 years.

The name of the five selected operators is not revealed yet. The auction will cover the new main 5G licences and the existing 2G and 3G spectrum. Belgium’s plans for 5G were blocked for years by disagreement between federal and regional governments.