The German auction may not have reached the sky-high prices envisaged for India’s upcoming spectrum sale, but there was still plenty for the country’s MNOs to grumble about – fees totalling €6.5bn ($7.4bn), indicating steady inflation in Europe’s 5G spectrum costs; and further pressures on the business model from coverage targets, a new entrant MNO, and spectrum earmarked for private and industrial use. The three established operators, Deutsche Telekom (DT), Vodafone and Telefónica O2, said they had been forced to overpay for their licences, because the regulator introduced new competition into the bidding, and that would impact on their resources to invest in 5G. Vodafone’s group CEO, Nick Read, said pointedly: “We believe it is important to have a balance…