7th Nov 2014 09:19
LONDON (Alliance News) - UK telecoms regulator Ofcom Friday unveiled a new auction for spectrum that it said could be used to meet growing demand for mobile broadband services.
The spectrum on offer is currently used by the Ministry of Defence, and is being auctioned as part of a wider UK government plan to free up public sector spectrum for civil uses.
Ofcom expects the auction of spectrum in the 2.3 gigahertz and 3.4 gigahertz bands to take place in late 2015 or early 2016. It said that whilst "no specific uses" for the spectrum have been prescribed, it will be likely to interest for the mobile industry as the frequencies are suitable for high data capacity.
The 3.4 gigahertz band is currently in use for 4G wireless broadband in six countries, including the UK, Canada and Spain.
Ofcom plans to auction a total of 190 megahertz in the two bands, which it said is equivalent to around three quarters of the airwaves it released through the 4G auction in 2013. It proposes auctioning the spectrum in 38 lots of 5 megahertz, with bidders allowed a minimum bid of four lots per band.
The regulator said that it is limiting operators mobile spectrum holdings to 37% of relevant spectrum in order to promote competition.
"Today marks an important step in ensuring that the UK has sufficient spectrum to support our wireless economy," said Ofcom's Spectrum Group Director Philip Marnick in a statement.
"It comes in response to the fast pace of change and innovation taking place in the communications sector, which is placing increased demands on how spectrum is used by all industries. One important way of meeting this demand is making new spectrum available and its use as flexible as possible, Marnick added.
By Hana Stewart-Smith; [email protected]; @HanaSSAllNews
Copyright 2014 Alliance News Limited. All Rights Reserved.
Related Shares:
Vodafone