The first round of Taiwan’s 5G auction has finished, with the island state’s five operators bidding a total of NT$138bn ($4.6bn) – more than three times the government’s reserve price and well ahead of most estimates, and indeed most other global auctions of 5G spectrum in the 3.5 GHz band. In terms of price per MHz/POP, Taiwan’s 3.5 GHz spectrum sale has come in second only to Italy, while the total bids – at NT$137bn – are third behind Italy and Germany. In addition, bids for the 28 GHz frequencies raised about NT$1bn. The regulator, NCC, halted the auction on Thursday after the smallest bidder, Asia-Pacific Telecom (backed by giant manufacturer Hon Hai) withdrew from the 3.5 GHz process. The…