The French government has launched the 5G spectrum license allocation process, with a price tag of 350 million euros for the 50 MHz band

The French government said on Tuesday it had launched the process of allocating 5G spectrum licenses after approving specifications proposed by the communications regulator and the financial conditions for the licenses. The government said in a statement that it had set the price for the 50 megahertz band at 350 million euros (about $386 million) and the price for the 10 megahertz band at 70 million euros (about $78 million). 

Agnes Pannier-Runacher, deputy minister of the French Ministry of Economy, said in a statement that the government and French telecom regulator Arcep have designed a mechanism to sell 50 MHz of basic spectrum to telecom operators at a fixed price. In return, operators are obliged to deploy their 5G networks on French territory. She said: "This 5G network coverage commitment is far more ambitious than other European countries and will constitute a strong factor in our country's competitiveness in the future."

Pannier-Runacher said last month that 5G spectrum would be sold at a reserve price of 2.17 billion euros (about 2.42 billion U.S. dollars).

Arcep said in a separate statement that it will use spectrum in the 3.4GHz to 3.8GHz bands, including four 50MHz bands at a price of 350 million euros (about 390 million U.S. dollars) each, and the rest will be 10MHz bands at a price of 70 million euros each. The statement also added that payments for the 50MHz bands may be staggered over the next 15 years, and the 10MHz bands may be staggered over four years.

Previously, France's finance ministry and telecommunications regulator disagreed over the minimum price for the spectrum auction, raising concerns that the allocation process could be delayed.