The second-stage bidding process, known as the assignment stage, for the first release of spectrum for 5G was concluded by the National Communications Commission (NCC) today on February 21st. Due to an overlap of the intended positions in the 3500MHz frequency band of five mobile operators, namely Chunghwa Telecom (CHT), Taiwan Mobile (TWM), Taiwan Star Telecom (T STAR), Asia Pacific (APTG) and FarEasTone (FET), during the morning session, the final positions were determined during a single-round quotation session in the afternoon reaching NT$4.11 billion.

　　NCC emphasized that during the assignment stage of the auction, the industry players proposed intended frequency positions based on the amounts of bandwidth secured in the first (principal) stage of the auction. Since their letters of intention for the 3500 MHz band failed to reach a consensus, a single-round quotation session commenced in the afternoon in which T STAR acquired block F1 ~ F4 (3300MHz ~ 3340MHz) for NT$0; FET acquired block F5 ~ F12 (3340MHz ~ 3420MHz) for NT$2.03 billion; CHT acquired block F13 ~ F21 (3420MHz ~ 3510MHz) for NT$2.08 billion; TWM acquired block F22 ~ F27 (3510MHz ~ 3570MHz) for NT$0.

　　As for the 28000MHz frequency band, the proposed intended frequency positions did not overlap so the final positions were successfully allocated during the morning session. Consequently, CHT acquired block G10 ~ G15 (27900MHz ~ 28500MHz); FET acquired block G16 ~ G19 (28500MHz ~ 28900MHz); APTG acquired block G20~G23 (28900MHz ~ 29300MHz); and TWM acquired block G24 ~ G25 (29300MHz ~ 29500MHz), completing the assignment stage of the auction.

　　The 1800MHz frequency band that had failed to be released during this auction has a total bandwidth of 20 MHz, and has been coupled with the remaining bandwidth of 900MHz in the 28000MHz frequency band; they will be considered for future spectrum policy.

　　Lastly, NCC maintains that the 5G license auction has multiple policy objectives, and hopes that those that have acquired spectrum can actively invest in 5G network construction as soon as possible so as to lay the foundation for mobile broadband development, provide better mobile broadband services, and drive various applications (such as telemedicine, autonomous driving, AR/VR, IoT), all of which can boost the digital economy in Taiwan, and benefit all.