Federal Council lowers license fees for mobile communications frequencies
The license fees for mobile radio frequencies, which will be used for the future mobile radio technology (5G), will fall. On November 8, 2017, the Federal Council amended the Ordinance on Fees in the Telecommunications Sector (GebV-FMG) accordingly.
With the revision of the FeeO-FMG, the license fees for mobile radio frequencies in the 3 GHz range will be set at an internationally standard level. These frequencies are of great importance for the rapid introduction, in particular the construction and operation of future 5th generation (5G) mobile radio networks from 2019. The Federal Communications Commission (ComCom) is currently preparing the allocation of the corresponding mobile radio frequencies that will be available in the future. The amendment to the ordinance approved by the Federal Council will enter into force on January 1, 2018.
The fees for frequencies in high frequency ranges will fall in order to take account of the less favorable propagation characteristics compared to the lower frequencies used previously. The new high frequencies are suitable for increasing the capacity of mobile networks, but are less suitable for mobile coverage inside buildings. (pd)
