Germany’s telecom sector remains in focus after a record mobile spectrum auction for 5G networks, which fetched the government 6.55 billion Euros. A record 497 rounds of bidding ensued over nearly three months for 41 blocks of spectrum which were on offer.

However, the auction was a tightly contested affair which witnessed the entrant of a new, fourth operator in the fray. According to telecom operators, Germany charges far more for spectrum than several other countries.

The market leader, Deutsche Telekom, bid 2.17 billion Euros for 130 Megahertz of the 420 Megahertz spectrum on offer in the 2 Gigahertz and 3.6 Gigahertz bands.