5G regulation and law in Luxembourg

Each operator holding a 5G licence is responsible for deploying its own 5G network. 

Currently, four operators have begun 5G deployment (in decreasing order of geographical coverage):

• Post Luxembourg;
• Proximus Luxembourg;
• Orange Communications Luxembourg;
• Luxembourg Online.

This ranking is based on data collected by the Luxembourgish National Regulatory Authority - ILR- (Institut Luxembourgeois de Regulation).

ILR also provides an interactive map that tracks the evolution of domestic mobile network coverage.

The 5G network is expected to be fully deployed in 2025, according to the Luxembourgish Prime Minister. 

The public tender for the 700 MHz and 3600 MHz spectrum was open to any legal entity established in a Member State of the European Union, subject to compliance with the participation conditions in section 3 of Annex A of the Ministerial Decision of 27 April 2020 on the auction of frequencies in the 700 MHz and 3600 MHz bands.

The Government's 5G roll-out roadmap demonstrates a political commitment to connecting strategic and commercial premises such as stadiums and airports by 2025 at the latest. 

On 13 July 2020, ILR started the auction of spectrum licences in the 700 MHz and 3600 MHz bands, which will be used to deploy 5G. All available frequencies were allocated to the four operators.
Orange Communications Luxembourg and Post Luxembourg obtained 2×10MHz in the 700 MHz band and 110 MHz in the 3,600 MHz band. Proximus Luxembourg won 2×10 MHz of 700 MHz spectrum and 100 MHz in the 3,600 MHz band, and Luxembourg Online secured 10 MHz in the 3,600 MHz band.

This was the first time that spectrum licences were awarded in Luxembourg through a public tender. 

The criteria appear in section 3 of Annex A to the Ministerial Decision of 27 April 2020. This includes, but is not limited to, the following obligations to:

• provide certain information at the request of the Minister or the ILR; 
• contribute to ILR's costs relating to the preparation and conduct of the tenders;
• pay a EUR 50,000 deposit to participate in the auction;
• prove ability to pay the amounts due for the desired spectrum using bank guarantees. 

The licences are granted for an initial term of fifteen years, and will be renewable at least once for a period of five years. 

By submitting a bid, the bidder agrees to the conditions and obligations as outlined in section 2 of Annex A of the Ministerial Decision of 27 April 2020.

This includes but is not limited to:

• frequency coordination obligation at the borders;
• compliance with technical requirements; 
• network synchronisation obligations; 
• specific coverage obligations. 

The reserve price is the minimum to be paid by the bidder. It is applied as a starting price in the first round of the auctions. The reserve price for 2x1 MHz of spectrum in the 700 MHz band is set at EUR 562,600. The reserve price for 1 MHz of spectrum in the 3,600 MHz band is set at EUR 30,000. 

All the 700MHz FDD and 3600MHz TDD licences have been awarded for 15 years, with a potential five-year extension.

The ILR held a public consultation in late December 2020 to assess possible applications for the 26 GHz frequency band. Noting that at this stage there is no demand for those frequencies, the Minister of Communications and Media has decided to postpone allocation of this band until there is clear demand. 

Various national and European legislation impacts 5G (e.g., the Law of 17 December 2021 on electronic communications networks and services). However, apart from the above-mentioned rules on licensing and public tender specification, there are no 5G-specific rules. 

5G projects pose challenges relating to:

• the granting of relevant certifications and permits (administrative burdens and significant costs for the operators);
• electricity (with 5G installations, each cell site requires significant electrical power, though to a lesser extent than for 3G and 4G);
• environmental issues (current regulations state that operators’ antennas should not produce a field strength above 3V/m in any place where people may be present in normal circumstances. This limit applies to one “radiating element”, i.e. per antenna.);
• access to public infrastructure (Operators will need access to more public infrastructure in order to install antennas and other equipment, but this access is not always easy to secure).

To our knowledge, there is no decision regarding non-compliance with 5G concessions requirements. 

To our knowledge, there are no 5G network or spectrum sharing agreements in place. Moreover, there is no 5G-focused nor spectrum sharing regulation. Spectrum sharing agreements are broadly tackled by the amended law of 30 May 2005 on the organisation of radio wave management. In addition, the Minister may prohibit the sharing or pooling of spectrum frequencies or attach conditions to it, if it is likely to harm competition significantly. 

5G licences are granted for an initial period of fifteen years and are renewable at least once for a period of five years. 

Article 63 of the Law of 17 December 2021 on electronic communications networks and services provides that the Minister shall ensure that distortions of competition are prevented and therefore may, on the advice of ILR, and after consultation with stakeholders, take appropriate measures such as limiting the amount of radio spectrum bands for which rights of use have been granted to a given undertaking or reserving a certain portion of spectrum to new market entrants. 

There is no official regulatory or political stance against Chinese technology in Luxembourg. However, operators must ensure their networks are secure.

It appears that the three biggest operators no longer trust the Chinese providers. Proximus and Orange Luxembourg, which had been 100% reliant on Huawei equipment for their 4G radio access networks, have now picked Finland’s Nokia for their 5G networks. Post Luxembourg, which has not previously used Chinese vendors, has retained Sweden’s Ericsson for 5G. 

Project 6G-TWIN: The Luxembourg Institute of Science and Technology (the LIST) will coordinate a European project on 6G mobile networks. With a budget of EUR 4 million, this project will play a key role in defining the future of wireless communications in Europe. In particular, the project aims to define models to better assess the electromagnetic waves emitted and to analyse user needs to ensure that the network is correctly dimensioned.