Telenet obtains extra spectrum to accelerate 5G deployment in Belgium
The following information is regulated information as defined by the Royal Decree of 14 November 2007 concerning the obligations of issuers of financial instruments that are admitted to trading on a regulated market. Insider information.
Mechelen, 21 June 2022 - Following the multi-band auction procedure organised by the Belgian Institute for Postal Services and Telecommunications (BIPT), Telenet Group NV, a 100 % direct subsidiary of Telenet Group Holding NV (hereafter 'Telenet') (Euronext Brussels: TNET), confirms it has obtained frequencies in the 700 MHz, 900 MHz, 1800 MHz, 2100 MHz, and 3500 MHz bands for a total amount of €264.3 million. Telenet will use this spectrum to ensure continuity of service for its existing networks, and to continue the expansion of its 5G network, whose commercial rollout began in December 2021 for the Telenet brand and in April 2022 for the BASE brand and for Telenet Business.
On March 28, 2022, BIPT has allocated the reserved spectrum in the 900 MHz (2x5 MHz), 1800 MHz (2x15 MHz) and 2100 MHz (2x10 MHz) frequency bands to Telenet for €73 million. The frequencies obtained through the auction procedure, which began on 1 June 2022 and ended on 20 June 2022, have now been added to these frequencies. In total Telenet obtained (including the reserved spectrum) 2x5 MHz in the 700 MHz band, 2x10 MHz in the 900 MHz band, 2x20 MHz in the 1800 MHz band, 2x15 MHz in the 2100 MHz band and 100 MHz in the 3500 MHz band, for a total amount of €264.3 million.Telenet will be able to use these frequencies for a period of 20 years, except for the frequencies in the 3500 MHz band, which will expire on 6 May 2040. Operators have the choice to either opt for a single advance payment or annual deferred payments. Telenet is still assessing both options.
Thanks to this combination of frequencies, Telenet will be able to continue its mobile rollout plan. On the one hand, the renewal of the existing spectrum will enable it to secure the continuity of service of its existing networks. And on the other hand, with the spectrum obtained in the 700, 900 and 3500 MHz frequency bands, Telenet will be able to expand its 5G network and offer its residential and business customers an even better 5G experience.
John Porter, CEO Telenet: " I am very happy with the outcome of this spectrum auction. We have been able to acquire as much as 200 MHz of spectrum for a very competitive price.
This result is a key milestone in the 5G journey. Over the past few years, we have not just been sitting back and waiting for the 5G spectrum auctions: we used the BIPT test licence to test 5G use cases with partners in various domains and were able to start our commercial rollout in December 2021 with the Telenet brand, in March with Telenet Business and last April with BASE, thanks to BIPT's temporary 5G licence. At the same time, we continued to roll-out and actively prepare our network day after day. Thanks to the newly acquired frequencies, we now enter a new phase of expansion of our 5G network, which will in the end provide higher speeds, capacity, lower latency and more stability to consumers as well as businesses on the whole Belgian territory”.
The full auction process is not yet complete – the positioning within each band of the acquired spectrum must now be determined, and later there will be an auction of spectrum in the 1400 MHz band.
