www.WirelessFederation.com/news: A total of EUR 4.385 billion has been earned from German mobile frequency auction which ended on May 20 of this year. Maximum amount has been paid by Vodafone Germany with EUR 1.423 billion for 94.9 MHz, followed by O2 Germany with EUR 1.379 billion for 99.9 MHz and T-Mobile Germany with EUR 1.299 billion for 95 MHz.  E-Plus paid EUR 283.65 million for 69.8 MHz.

Highest bid was made for the 800 MHz spectrum, but only three of the four operators could acquire it. Due to less money, E-Plus was unable to acquire these frequencies and according to the parent company, KPN before that start of the auction, E-Plus would bid disciplined to prevent paying too much for the spectrum and thus increasing the costs of rolling out LTE networks.

Apart from 800 MHz spectrum, successful bids were made by E-plus in other frequencies like 20 MHz of 1.8 GHz (GSM/GPRS/UMTS/HSPA), 19.8 MHz of 2 GHz (UMTS/HSPA/LTE) and 30 MHz of 2.6 GHz (LTE/Wimax). E-Plus will have to face difficulties with deploying mobile broadband in rural areas due to missing 800 MHz spectrum but will be able to offer better coverage within buildings by gaining access to lower frequencies.

Lots of speculations have arisen regarding future moves of E-Plus now. As of now, E-Plus will have to wait for the new market analysis from German telecommunications regulator BNA. BNA might decide to restructure 900 MHz spectrum to create a level playing field for all operators and through this decision, E-Plus can get its hands on frequencies in the lower ranges.

Other solutions might also be looked up by E-Plus and KPN with merger between E-Plus and Telefonica O2 Germany’s mobile activities as one of them. Since, Telefonica is focusing its investments on Brazil and its home market Spain, acquisition of E-Plus by the telco is less likely. At the end, E-Plus is left with its existing strategy of offering mobile services against a good price/quality ratio by expanding its mobile broadband network with the acquired spectrum.