German regulator Bundesnetzagentur announced it will begin allocating spectrum between 3.7GHz and 3.8GHz for local 5G networks in the back half of the year.

Unlike the national spectrum licences up for grabs in the country’s upcoming 5G auction, the agency said the local licences will be distributed to meet the needs of industrial, small and medium-sized businesses.

Rather than being auctioned, the spectrum will be assigned to interested parties upon request, it added.

Bundesnetzagentur president Jochen Homann said in a statement 5G offers “great potential” for the industrial sector, adding the agency is acting accordingly to “allow local networks to be built exactly to the needs” of companies in the segment.

The regulator flagged industrial automation, agriculture and forestry as examples of use cases which could benefit from the spectrum.

Reuters reported automakers Volkswagen and Daimler, and chemical company BASF have already expressed interest using the spectrum to create connected factories.