Spectrum in the 700 MHz and 2600 MHz bands will be awarded in Ukraine only through a competitive tender or an auction. The National Commission for the State Regulation of Electronic Communications, Radio Frequency Spectrum, and Postal Services (NCEC) took the decision at its meeting on 27 August.
The award covers 703–723/758–778 MHz in the 700 MHz band, plus 2545–2550/2665–2670 MHz and 2560–2565/2680–2685 MHz at 2600 MHz. That amounts to 20 MHz of paired spectrum in the first case and two paired 5 MHz blocks in the second.
The reason for restricting the award is that the spectrum operators asked for exceeds what the regulator actually has. The NCEC adopted Decision No. 398 under Article 59 of the Law of Ukraine “On Electronic Communications” after reviewing letters from the mobile operators. It listed better service quality, wider mobile coverage across Ukraine, the roll-out of new radio technologies, and efficient use of the spectrum among the goals.
The market has been expecting the move since the spring. Kyivstar’s chief executive said in April that he anticipated an auction for 700 MHz spectrum in the autumn of 2026.
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The two bands do different jobs in a mobile network. Low-band 700 MHz covers a large area from a single site, which is why it is treated as a foundation layer for 5G. The 2600 MHz blocks currently carry mostly 4G traffic and add capacity where subscriber density is highest.
Starting prices will be based on a valuation by Aetha Consulting Limited. The NCEC noted two documents from the consultancy—a spectrum valuation report with scenario analysis and a final report—prepared under a project covering the 700 MHz and 3.5 GHz bands in Ukraine. The valuation therefore spans 700 MHz and 3.5 GHz, whereas the award decision applies to 700 MHz and 2600 MHz.
The next step rests with the government. The commission approved a draft resolution of the Cabinet of Ministers setting the license fee for spectrum won in a tender and the starting, or minimum, fee for spectrum won at auction. It acted under Article 61 of the same law.
At the same meeting the NCEC approved a draft contract for industrial control services with the state-owned Ukrainian State Centre of Radio Frequencies. The contract covers monitoring of electronic communications service quality, which the regulator carries out under Article 4 of the Law of Ukraine “On the NCEC,” Articles 45 and 111 of the electronic communications law, and Section III of the monitoring procedure.
