The Office of the Communications Authority (OFCA) invites applications for the assignment of spectrum in the 26 GHz and 28 GHz bands (26/28 GHz bands) for the provision of large scale fifth generation (5G) mobile services from today (February 29).

     Subsequent to a public consultation exercise, the Communications Authority (CA) decided on December 13, 2018, to allocate 4 100 MHz of spectrum in the 26/28 GHz bands to mobile service, among which 3 700 MHz will be non-shared spectrum for providing large scale public 5G services, while 400 MHz will be shared spectrum for providing localised wireless services. The CA also decided to adopt an administrative approach for spectrum assignment in view of the abundant supply of spectrum in the two bands. The first batch of 1 200 MHz non-shared spectrum was first assigned to mobile network operators in April 2019 for 5G service provision. To further promote 5G development and having regard to the latest market situation, the CA decided to make available the remaining 2 500 MHz of non-shared spectrum in the bands for application by the industry.

     Detailed arrangements of the application and spectrum assignment are set out in the Guidelines for Submission of Applications for Second Round Assignment of Spectrum in the 26 GHz and 28 GHz Bands for Provision of Large Scale Public Mobile Services. Interested parties are required to submit a duly completed application form with required information to OFCA by 5.30pm on March 28, 2024. Late submissions will not be accepted. The aforementioned guidelines and application form can be downloaded from the OFCA website.

Ends/Thursday, February 29, 2024
Issued at HKT 11:00

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