STOCKHOLM (WiMAX Day). The Swedish telecoms regulator Post-och telestyrelsen (PTS) has completed an auction for four regional wireless broadband licenses with no obligatory rollouts in the 3.6GHz-3.8 GHz frequency bands, suitable for WiMAX services. The four 15-year technology neutral licenses on offer were per municipality: two FDD licenses of 2×20MHz each, along with two TDD licenses of 40MHz each (a total of 1,160 concessions). The seven-day online auction ended on November 21 with 44 companies winning 402 licenses for a total price of SEK4.434 million (US$703,000), plus processing fees per license.

The top winners included: Bredbandsbolaget (a subsidiary of Telenor of Norway) won concessions in all of Sweden’s 290 municipalities; IT Norrbotten was successful in 13 municipalities; a subsidiary of TeliaSonera, Telia Sonera Mobile Networks, won in 12 municipalities, and licenses in 11 municipalities went to Celestine Hil Communications. In addition, three firms won concessions in eight municipalities: Gothenburg Energy Gothnet, Radio Rex and IT4U Sweden. The remaining 37 operators were awarded licenses in up to four municipalities.

PTS is the Swedish authority that monitors the electronic communications , which includes telecommunications, IT and radio, as well as postal sectors in Sweden.  This month PTS’s spectrum department will analyze the results of the auction and formulate a plan for allocating the 758 unsold spectrum blocks in the coming year.