Communications (Belgian market)

2022: In Belgium, 5G frequencies sold out for 1.2 billion euros

On June 21, 2022, the Belgian Institute of Postal Services and Telecommunications (BIPT) announced that the sale of licenses for 5G frequencies, as well as existing 2G and 3G bands, brought revenue to the state in the amount of €1.202 billion.

In total, five operators received the right to access part of the frequency bands, including the Flemish mobile operator Citymesh, Liège-based Network Research Belgium and three national operators - Orange Belgium, Proximus and Telenet. Companies will be able to use frequency bands over the next 20 years.

In Belgium, 5G frequencies sold out for 1.2 billion euros

At the beginning of the main stage of the auction on June 1, 2022, the operators jointly made an offer of €899 million for the radio frequencies put up for auction. This amount significantly exceeded the initial prices established by Belgian law and overpayment amounted to about €468.5 million. Mobile operators paid another €302 million to reserve certain frequency bands.

Due to the fact that the current antenna radiation standards do not allow 5G broadcasting in the regions of Wallonia and Brussels, only Flanders will be able to take advantage of 5G communication.

In an effort to provide the necessary conditions for 5G connections, which are expected to be 100 times faster than existing high-speed 4G connections, regions of the country continue to change their domestic standards.

Wallonia has previously said it is moving towards a "controlled" 5G rollout due to radiation level issues. In October 2021, the Walloon government commissioned an assessment of the health effects of radio frequencies.

Later, in October 2021, Wallonia made changes to its radiation standards to ensure future deployment. Similarly, the Brussels region has approved higher radiation limits to enable the future rollout of 5G networks in the capital.^[1]

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