28GHz Frequency Auction Day 4 Highest Bid Approaches 200 Billion Won

As the auction for the 28 gigahertz (GHz) frequency band of the 5th generation mobile communication (5G) for selecting the 4th mobile carrier shows signs of overheating, the highest bid in the 4th round of the auction approached 200 billion KRW.

The Ministry of Science and ICT announced that the 4th day of the 28 GHz band frequency auction was held from 9 a.m. to 5:40 p.m. on the 30th.

The first stage auction, which uses a multi-round ascending bid method with up to 50 rounds, completed 38 rounds on this day, but neither StageX nor MyMobile, who were in a head-to-head competition, gave up bidding.

As a result, the highest bid rose from 141.4 billion KRW the previous day to 195.5 billion KRW on this day, the Ministry of Science and ICT reported. The auction, which started at 74.2 billion KRW, nearly tripled in four days.

[Image source=Yonhap News]

It is expected to break the previous record of the early 200 billion KRW range for the 28 GHz band frequency won by the existing three telecom companies in 2018.

The frequency auction will resume at 9 a.m. on the 31st from the 39th round.

If neither company withdraws until all 50 rounds are completed, the final winner will be decided by sealed bidding. Given that 13 rounds were conducted in one day, it is highly likely that the final decision will be made on the 31st.

The new operator allocated the 28 GHz band frequency must mandatorily build 6,000 base stations nationwide by the third year from the allocation date and implement measures to avoid frequency mixing and interference.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.