FILE PHOTO: Thomas Reynaud, Chief Executive Officer of French broadband Internet provider Iliad, attends the company’s 2018 annual results presentation in Paris, France, March 19, 2019. REUTERS/Gonzalo Fuentes
PARIS (Reuters) – France’s 5G frequencies spectrum auction is ‘likely’ to be postponed because of the coronavirus outbreak, Iliad’s chief executive Thomas Reynaud said on Tuesday.
“We’ve taken into account a likely postponement of the tender,” Reynaud told reporters when asked about a possible rescheduling of the auction, which France’s telecoms authority Arcep said would take place in April.
Disagreements between France’s finance ministry and the telecoms authority over the spectrum to be auctioned and the minimum price for the 5G frequency blocs have already postponed the process, two sources close to the matter told Reuters.
Reporting by Mathieu Rosemain; Editing by Alex Richardson