Austria’s mobile phone companies just bought new airwaves for their signals and paid €25 million for it. They got these new frequencies to make their mobile networks faster and better, using something called 5G. But there’s something unique this time: they’re allowed to turn off these signals when people aren’t using them much, like in the middle of the night.
Here’s the deal: the companies that help our phones work – A1, T-Mobile, and Hutchison Drei – spent a bunch of money to use parts of the air that carry data to and from our phones. They’re focusing on two types: one that’s fast but doesn’t go very far, and another that’s more for wider areas but still quick.
The fast one is super cool because it can handle lots of internet traffic in busy places like city centers or big events. It’s like having a super-fast lane just for emergencies on a highway. Because it’s so speedy, they can turn it off when people are asleep without anyone missing it. They’re also getting rid of an older system, 3G, which should help save energy and be better for the environment.
So, the companies paid more than they had to for the chance to use these airwaves. A1 and T-Mobile spent about €4.63 million each for the quick, short-range one, and Hutchison Drei paid €6.95 million because they wanted a bigger share of it. In total, they spent €16.2 million, which is even more than what was asked at the start.
The less speedy airwaves they bought are only for certain places and won’t cover the whole country. These leftovers weren’t sold four years ago, but now the big phone companies have snapped them up. A1 and T-Mobile put down €8.5 million for these, which is way more than the starting price.
All this talk of frequencies might sound techy, but it’s just about making sure our phones have the signal they need to work fast and well. And they’ll keep using these new airwaves until the end of 2039, so that’s a lot of time to enjoy quicker downloads and smoother streaming.
