German Airwave Bids Top $5 Billion to Exceed 2010 Auction
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Deutsche Telekom AG, Vodafone Group Plc and Telefonica Deutschland Holding AG bid a total of 4.52 billion euros ($5.1 billion) for German airwaves three weeks into an auction, surpassing the total the government received from a sale five years ago.
Into the 167th round of bidding, the value of spectrum is going up as the popularity of data-hogging smartphones and tablets increases and everything from cars to refrigerators get connected to the Internet. In 2010, in the previous auction, the government raised 4.38 billion euros from four buyers.