Telefonica comes out on top in British mobile airwaves auction (updated)

Hutchison Telecommunications Hong Kong Holdings

05/04/2018 07:59

(Adds details)
    LONDON, April 5 (Reuters) - Telefonica's O2  TEF.MC  won the
biggest chunk of new British mobile airwaves in an auction that
raised 1.36 billion pounds($1.9 billion) for the government,
regulator Ofcom said.
    All four of Britain's networks secured new airwaves for next
generation 5G services, Ofcom said on Thursday, but O2 also won
blocks of 2.3 Ghz airwaves that can be deployed immediately to
boost capacity for 4G services.
    Telefonica, which ranks second to BT's EE in Britain, won
two 40 Mhz tranches at a cost of nearly 524 million pounds,
Ofcom said.
    EE, which was limited in the amount of new airwaves it could
buy, secured one 40 MHz block for 303 million pounds, while
Vodafone  VOD.L  won 50 Mhz for 378 million pounds, and the
smallest network, Hutchison's  0215.HK  3, won 20 Mhz for 151
million pounds.
  

($1 = 0.7113 pounds)

 (Reporting by Paul Sandle; editing by Costas Pitas)
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Messaging: paul.sandle.thomsonreuters.com@reuters.net))