EE, VodafoneThree, and Virgin Media O2 have spent a combined £39 million ($52.35m) on mmWave spectrum during Ofcom's latest spectrum auction.

As part of the auction, 5.4 GHz of spectrum was up for grabs, covering the 26GHz and 40GHz of mmWave spectrum bands.

The telcos each spent £13m ($17.45m) during the auction, with the spectrum set to help the operators bolster their respective 5G networks.

Virgin Media O2 has acquired 800MHz of 26GHz spectrum and 1,000MHz of 40 GHz spectrum, which it notes equates to a cost of £0.00014 ($0.00019) per MHz/population in the 26GHz band and £0.00007 ($0.000094) per MHz/population in the 40GHz band.

EE also acquired 800MHz of 26GHz spectrum, but in the upper band, plus 1,000MHz of 40GHz.

Meanwhile, Vodafone snapped up 600MHz of 26GHz in the lower block, with 200MHz of 26GHz, and 1,000MHz of 40GHz spectrum.

"This new investment in high-speed, high-capacity mobile airwaves is a strong result from the auction and pairs perfectly with our strategy to transform our mobile network and give our customers a trustworthy and reliable mobile connectivity experience wherever they are," said Lutz Schüler, CEO of Virgin Media O2.

Ofcom stated that the auction will move to the assignment stage, noting that the companies can bid for the frequency positions they prefer for the airwaves they have secured in the principal stage.

"Today’s results are an important milestone on the path to better, faster 5G. The large amount of spectrum we’ve released will help support innovation, open doors to new applications and growth, and can bring noticeable improvements to mobile services in busier places up and down the UK," said David Willis, Ofcom’s group director for spectrum.