Portugal’s telecom market regulator Anacom plans to conduct an auction between April and June next year to allocate 5G frequencies to operators.
Anacom said its decision is aligned with European Commission plans to start launching 5G services in all member states by the end of 2020 at the latest.

The proposal is under consultation for a period of 20 working days. Anacom is expected to share the outcome of the consultation in January 2020.

If approved, the regulator said it will allocate six bands, including 700 megahertz, to ensure the transition to the next generation of mobile networks, and 3.6 gigahertz, which is able to provide needed capacity for 5G supported services.

“The allocation of rights of use for frequencies should be subject to an auction procedure as this is a potentially a more transparent and objective process for all stakeholders and less intrusive in their business plans,” Anacom said in statement.

Altice Portugal, the country’s largest operator, said last year it was working with China’s Huawei to make Portugal a European leader in the development and roll-out of 5G networks. Altice Portugal’s main rivals include NOS and Vodafone Portugal.