Telefonica secures new spectrum in Spain for €668.3m

Telefonica SA said Friday it has secured five frequency blocks in an auction organized by Spain's government, getting spectrum in all the bands currently available for mobile telephone services in Spain. The country's largest telecommunications company by market value and customers said in a filing with regulators that it will pay EUR668.3 million for the awarded spectrum. Telefonica will disburse EUR356 million in September, and the rest in the second quarter of 2012. The license will run to 2030. Spain's spectrum auction seeks to raise funds to lower the government's financing needs and will allow telecommunication companies operating in the country to offer high-speed fourth-generation wireless services.

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