Ofcom ponders public sector spectrum trading

Ofcom this week launched a consultation process to consider proposals to enable public sector organisations to share, sell and free-up spectrum for other uses.

It is believed that such spectrum holdings could be worth anywhere between £3 billion and £20 billion-plus in terms of market value, with the most in-demand spectrum frequencies - such as those belonging to including the emergency services, Civil Aviation Authority, Maritime and Coastguard Agency and the Ministry of Defence - adding up to around half of all radio spectrum below 15GHz.

The first spectrum range likely to be traded under the new proposals are the 406.1 - 430MHz, 2.7 - 3.4GHz and 3.4 - 3.6GHz bands.

The public sector community will be able to make the most efficient use of their frequencies by trading these ranges with the commercial sector and users are likely to benefit too from the potential launch of new services and technologies as a result, according to Ofcom.

"Spectrum is a valuable resource and demand for it is increasing all the time," said Ofcom's chief executive Ed Richards.

"Giving public organisations new opportunities and incentives to make the most efficient use of this resource is just one part of a wide set of measures introduced by Ofcom to make sure that the UK's spectrum is used to the maximum."

The consultation process for the proposals, which form part of a broader initiative by the Government and Ofcom, is open until 4 October and Ofcom plans to publish implementation details later this year.

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