Norway’s 1800MHz spectrum auction raised a total of NOK878 million ($103 million) after seven days and 83 rounds of bidding, with market leader Telenor emerging as the biggest winner.

The Norwegian Communications Authority (Nkom) confirmed the results in a statement, with Telenor winning 2 x 10MHz at a price of NOK585.3 million.

Rival TeliaSonera took home 2 x 5MHz at a total of NOK292.7 million while number three player Ice Communications, which also participated, failed to secure any frequencies.

The 2 x 15MHz available was unsold from the country’s 4G multiband auction in 2013, when Ice Communication, then known as Telco Data, surprised the market by winning frequencies at the expense of then established player Tele2.

Tele2’s failure in the auction led it to agreeing the sale of its Norwegian operations to rival TeliaSonera, with the long mooted deal finally approved by Norwegian competition authorities earlier this year.

Nkom said winners of this auction will have until 20 January next year “to negotiate the placement for the spectrum”.

According to GSMA Intelligence, Telenor has just under 4.3 million connections, with TeliaSonera almost reaching 2.6 million. Ice Communications lags behind with 216,000.