The Rotterdam court gave the green light on Tuesday for the scheduled auction of radio frequencies for 5G networks. Several parties have gone to court because they disagreed with the auction plans.
The lawsuit centered around the so-called National Frequency Plan (NFP). This “zoning plan” determines how 5G frequencies will be distributed after the auction. Telecommunications service providers and various local parties, including Schiphol Airport and the Port of Rotterdam, have gone to court over their disagreement with this distribution.
The judge ruled on Tuesday that the Cabinet had carefully allocated the frequencies. According to the court, the minister cannot satisfy everyone, because interests differ greatly.
Telecom providers complained that the share they could get after the frequency auction was very limited. This is because some frequencies are reserved for local users, such as Schiphol and the Port of Rotterdam.
Domestic users have actually complained that they were allocated the wrong portion of 5G frequencies, sometimes a very small portion. This would hinder innovation, for example, in the port of Rotterdam which has ships sailing autonomously.
Ontvang een melding bij nieuwe ontwikkelingen.
According to the judge, the distribution is a political decision
But the judge is reluctant to rule on the content of the NFP. According to the judge, this is a political decision. The court therefore essentially considered whether the plans were proportionate and whether the Minister had acted carefully. According to the judge, this has indeed been shown to be the case.
The National Digital Infrastructure Inspectorate (RDI) was originally supposed to sell new 5G frequencies on the 3.5GHz band before the end of this year. But due to numerous delays, the auction will not take place until 2024.
Telecommunications service providers are in dire need of frequencies
The frequency auction is urgently needed because the volume of mobile Internet traffic in our country is increasing by 30 to 50 percent every year. The Dutch also want faster internet on their phones.
To meet this demand, service providers must continue to expand their networks. This can be done partly at existing frequencies, for example by installing new antennas. But there is a limit to the capacity that can currently be added to networks.
For further expansion, more radio frequencies are needed. Thanks to the auction, these frequencies will become available to telecom providers next year.
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