The Netherlands’ National Inspectorate for Digital Infrastructure (Rijksinspectie Digitale Infrastructuur, RDI) under the Ministry of Economic Affairs & Climate Policy (MEACP) has announced that 3.5GHz spectrum licences will be available for local, private 5G networks from 1 December 2023, aimed at enterprise users such as industrial sites and other businesses with their own private communications network. Localised 5G networks – unconnected to public mobile infrastructure – will be utilised for secure communications and business processes and a variety of on-premises applications via the private owners’ licensed frequencies, with examples given by RDI such as controlling smart, complex devices including factory robots and autonomous vehicles or virtual reality-based facilities. Licences will be valid until 31 December 2040.

RDI’s announcement notes that under the government’s licensing strategy: ‘Companies are assisted with their licence applications on a first-come, first-served basis, but new applicants have the same rights to frequency use as their neighbours, who may already have a licence.’ RDI adds that this means ‘companies with a permit must takeaccount the obligation of mutual cooperation.’ Two 50MHz blocks of 3500MHz band spectrum are available for local wireless applications of companies and organisations, separate from the 300MHz tranche of 3.5GHz airwaves earmarked for the Netherlands’ 5G nationwide mobile spectrum auction, which the government hopes to launch in Q1 2024 having recently reached an in-principle agreement to relocate satellite services occupying the band, while court hearings on appeals against the 5G licensing policy began last month.

Specifically regarding the private 5G network licensing, TeleGeography’s GlobalComms Database notes that in April 2023 Schiphol Airport and the Port of Rotterdam filed lawsuits against the MEACP’s 3.5GHz policy, arguing that the first-come, first-served method of distributing local/private 5G spectrum could prevent them from securing their required bandwidth, while the Port also claimed the frequencies reserved for parties other than mobile operators were of lower quality, potentially disrupting its development of 5G applications e.g. autonomous shipping and data processing via IoT sensors in the port.