Orange Polska plans to allocate approximately PLN 1.1 billion to investments in the 5G network in the years 2024-2026, Jacek Kunicki, CFO of the operator, informed.
“In the .Grow strategy, we indicated the capex for 5G and modernization will reach the highest value in 2023 and 2024 at PLN 400-500 million per year. Of course, this was delayed with the shift of the auction to band C and moved to 2024 and 2025. Nevertheless, we maintain capex in the strategic plan. At the same time, we actively prepared the network for the 5G rollout and modernization, and as a result, the expenditure on this from 2021 to the end of 2023 will reach nearly PLN 700 million. We estimate that we will spend another PLN 1.1 billion over the next 3 years on the 5G rollout project plus modernization. We anticipate the highest capex in 2024 and 2025 as we want to launch these services as soon as possible with the right coverage and quality. In turn, in 2026 we assume a significant reduction in capex,” said Kunicki during a teleconference.
At the end of June, the Office of Electronic Communications (UKE) announced the start of the auction procedure for the C band (3400-3800 MHz) for 5G technology with a starting price of PLN 450 million for one reservation. The submission of initial bids will last until August 8, then the first stage with formal evaluation will take 21 days, the next 24 days will be trial auctions, the next 15 days will be the actual bidding, and finally the booking procedure will last 30 days. The Office aims at approx. 150 days of the process in order to launch the implementation of the auction obligations at the end of November. As indicated by UKE, quantitative commitments cover at least 3,800 base stations within 48 months, at least 400 stations in communes of 10-20,000 inhabitants. inhabitants, at least 700 stations in municipalities of 20-50 thousand. inhabitants, at least 300 stations in municipalities of 50-80 thousand. inhabitants.
Orange Polska is a provider of telecommunications services in Poland. Orange provides e.g. mobile and landline telephony services, Internet access, TV and voice transmission over the Internet (VoIP). The company has been listed on the Warsaw Stock Exchange since 1998.