Switzerland Next Auction 5G Spectrum

The Swiss government plans to allocate 5G spectrum in 2018. The ComCom announced on November 17 that it is preparing to start the spectrum allocation process next spring with a view to completing the 5G spectrum allocation in the second half of 2018.

The day before, the Swiss Federal Council approved a revision of the national frequency allocation plan, specifying frequencies in the 694 MHz to 790 MHz range for the mobile service and taking other steps to allocate more frequency bands to the mobile service in the future.

The revised national frequency allocation plan covers the spectrum of the 700 MHz, 1400 MHz and 3.5 GHz to 3.8 GHz bands. In addition, ComCom said there is still an unsold band in the 2.6 GHz band.

Of these, the 2.6 GHz spectrum is immediately available and the spectrum for all other bands will be available to the mobile service starting in 2019.

These spectrum "will help to overcome the capacity bottleneck of today's 4G mobile wireless networks, which are also important frequencies for future 5G mobile technology," ComCom added.

ComCom will issue a tender invitation tomorrow morning to formally begin the distribution process, but the process terms have not yet been finalized.