Auction design in the recent Portuguese 5G auction – what went wrong?
Auction design in the recent Portuguese 5G auction – what went wrong?
The recently concluded Portuguese 5G auction is a good example of why auction design matters. The auction sold off 58 lots across six frequency bands. The auction concluded on 27 October, after 200 days and 1,727 bidding rounds.
We have identified three main points that went wrong as a direct result of the auction design:
The auction dragged out for far too long, lasting 200 days
Valuable spectrum in the 700 MHz band went unsold and will go to waste
The chosen auction format made life complicated for the bidders
You can read about each of the three errors below, or click on the following link to access a downloadable copy.
