New Zealand cancels 3.5 GHz 5G auction
An auction for short-term, early access rights in the 3.5 GHz band for 5G services (known as Auction 20) in New Zealand, has been cancelled.
According to an announcement from Radio Spectrum Management, the cancellation was “due to the constraints imposed by the COVID-19 pandemic”.
“Instead, a direct allocation process will be undertaken. Offers of spectrum will be made to Dense Air (40 MHz), Spark (60 MHz) and 2degrees (60 MHz),” the announcement said.
In December 2019, the New Zealand Government kick-started the further development of 5G networks by making appropriate spectrum available when Cabinet approved the allocation of short-term rights to an unused portion of 3.5 GHz spectrum.
Those short-term rights were scheduled to run from mid-2020 to 31 October 2022.
Long-term rights to 3.5 GHz spectrum are on track to begin in November 2022, with details of that allocation still to be determined.
DroneShield to open R&D facility in Adelaide
Counter-drone technology company DroneShield has announced a $13m investment in a new research...
Comms Connect kicks off next week with preconference workshops
Over 1500 visitors are expected to descend on the Melbourne Convention and Exhibition Centre for...
Nokia's new campus to deliver next-gen networks built for AI
The state-of-the-art R&D and manufacturing campus in Oulu, Finland, is set to design, test...