Communications, Space and Technology Commission announces the qualification of four applicants to participate in the 2100 MHz band auction for non-terrestrial networks (NTN) on November 30

The Communications, Space and Technology Commission announced the qualification of 4 applicants to participate in the 2100 MHz band auction for non-terrestrial networks (NTN), scheduled to be held on November 30, 2022, which aims to stimulate the deployment of non-terrestrial networks, enhance investments in the communications sector, raise the efficiency of spectrum use in the Kingdom, and confirm the Kingdom's leadership in enabling these technologies.

The Commission revealed the four applicants qualified to participate in the 2100 MHz band auction for non-terrestrial networks (NTN), namely Saudi Telecom Company (STC), Echostar, Omnispace, and Salam in cooperation with Iridium, AST SpaceMobile, and Airbus.

The Commission explained that those qualified to participate in the auction will be able to bid for frequencies with a total bandwidth of (302x) MHz in the 2100 MHz band to provide non-terrestrial network services, while the frequencies offered in the auction will contribute to the adoption of modern generation non-terrestrial network technologies such as mobile satellite communications (MSS), air-to-ground internet (A2G), as well as satellite IoT (Sat-IoT), in addition to 5G complementary ground component satellite networks (5G CGC).