Romania postpones 5G auction for Q3 of 2021

On 4 February 2021, the Romanian National Authority for Administration and Regulation in Communications (ANCOM) adopted a 2021 action plan, which features the launch of the 5G Spectrum auction as early as July.

According to ANCOM's previous plan, the 5G auction was supposed to take place in the second quarter of 2021 with the selection procedure to be finalised in the first three months.

The Romanian media is reporting that ANCOM is delaying the process by three months: it will hold the auction for 5G licenses in the third-quarter of this year (July, August and September), and decisions on the organisation of the selection procedure for granting the relevant frequency bands will be adopted in the second quarter (April, May and June).

In addition, ANCOM is expected to roll out an information campaign on the advantages of the new technology the last tree months of the year, targeting local authorities, businesses and the general public.

ANCOM also plans to implement the Romanian Infrastructure Law, which is expected to have a significant impact on the electronic communications market as well as on other sectors of the economy.

ANCOM’s action plan for 2021 is available (in Romanian) at: Plan de acțiuni 2021 (ancom.ro).