CAPTION: Jochen Homann, president of Germany's Federal Telecommunication Network Agency, before pushing the button on a timer to open an auction of fifth-generation mobile phone licenses. (Arne Dedert/dpa)
Germany launched its frequency licence auction for the 5G mobile standard in the city of Mainz on Tuesday with the symbolic pressing of an old-fashioned stopwatch.
The head of the Federal Network Agency (BNetzA), Jochen Homan, pressed the button of the stopwatch dating back to 2000, the year when the first mobile licences were sold, generating the equivalent of some 51 billion euros (58 billion dollars) for the treasury.
Considerably less is anticipated this time round. The auction is expected to last at least three weeks, with revenue estimates running between 3 and 5 billion euros (3.4 to 5.7 billion dollars).
Amid concerns at the lack of mobile coverage in rural areas, Homann has said he is confident that mobile services would improve. He noted that conditions had been attached to the auction stipulating that all motorways had to have fast internet coverage.
Three established network operators and one newcomer have indicated an interest, including Deutsche Telekom, Vodafone and Telefonica, who already operate networks, and 1&1-Drillisch.
Germany is looking to 5G to speed up the current standard by a factor of 100 and to facilitate industrial applications, such as driverless transport and for so-called "tele-medicine" - or remote health provision.
The sector has complained that the conditions attached are too onerous, with calls for comprehensive coverage for broadband internet services - something the providers reject as utopian.
By 2022, 98 per cent of German households are to have fast internet connections.
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