Italy's Ministry of Enterprises and Made in Italy will auction spectrum in the lower 26 GHz band (24.25–26.5 GHz) from 5 to 10 November 2026, with a combined base price of roughly €180.08 million and a format aimed at fixed wireless access rather than traditional mobile operators.

The application deadline passed on 30 September. AGCOM approved the auction procedures in 2025, framing the process as a tool to bridge the digital divide in rural areas where fibre is uneconomic.

Italian fixed-wireless provider EOLO backed that logic, stating that FWA services would be particularly useful for expanding connectivity in rural zones where fibre deployment is costly or inefficient.

What is being sold?

The auction offers five national lots and 42 regional ones:

• National: five blocks of 200 MHz, each with a minimum price of €25.726 million (combined value €128.63 million).
• Regional: two 200 MHz blocks in each of 19 regions plus the autonomous provinces of Trento and Bolzano (combined value around €51.45 million, with prices varying by population).

Licences run for 15 years and become usable on 1 January 2029. A 400 MHz spectrum cap prevents concentration, and winners may pay in three annual instalments.

How does this differ from the 2018 auction?

The 2018 contest covering the upper 26 GHz section (26.5–27.5 GHz), 700 MHz and 3.6–3.8 GHz generated more than €6.55 billion in revenues, far above the €2.5 billion the government anticipated. The current process is more flexible: instalment payments, discounts in specific cases and non-exclusive licences that allow sharing under reasonable commercial terms.

The 2018 outcome remains Europe's most expensive spectrum auction by total value, a contrast that underlines how much operator appetite for high-band 5G has cooled.

Who can bid, and who is left out?

Applicants must demonstrate they can use the frequencies and deliver communication services. AGCOM designed the framework to attract regional broadband providers and infrastructure investors, not only Italy's four established mobile operators (TIM, Vodafone, Wind Tre/iliad and Fastweb).

Incumbent Wireless Local Loop (WLL) operators get two extra years to migrate, with the goal of "an orderly and sustainable migration" before their frequencies return to wider use.

Why is the band losing momentum?

Interest in the 26 GHz band has waned in recent years across multiple markets. Apple dropped handset support for the frequency range in late 2025. In August 2026, Vodafone Spain returned unused 26 GHz holdings to the state to cut costs. The European Commission designated 26 GHz as a 5G pioneer band in 2016, and WRC-19 identified it for IMT, with mobile assignments completed in India, the United States, Canada and Brazil. Yet device ecosystems and operator business cases have not kept pace.

What comes next?

AGCOM is running a parallel track on legacy holdings. In July 2026, the regulator opened a consultation on renewing spectrum rights due to expire at the end of 2029, covering 800 MHz, 900 MHz, 1500 MHz, 1800 MHz, 2100 MHz, 2600 MHz and 3400–3600 MHz licences through 2037. The agency says the renewal aims to "foster the significant development of 5G networks".

Whether FWA buyers, rather than mobile operators, take the bulk of Italy's lower 26 GHz will shape Europe's test case for repurposing pioneer 5G spectrum for fixed-wireless broadband. The November bidding window will set the floor.