Ofcom's mobile spectrum consultation nears close

Ofcom's consultation period calling for opinion as to whether mobile spectrum should be opened up to promote greater competition and stimulate and nurture innovation closes in less than a week.

Interested parties have until this Thursday (29 November) to put forward their arguments, both for and against, as to the merits of opening up the bands currently in use - 900MHz, 1800MHz and 2100MHz - to allow operators to bring new services to market more easily, while potentially increasing coverage and reducing costs for users.

At present Vodafone and O2 use the 900MHz band for 2G, while all four 2G players use the 1800MHz band. All of the big five operators hold 2100MHz spectrum licences and use this band for their 3G services at present.

The consultation period was launched in September and came shortly after the GSM Association (GSMA) called for the 900MHz spectrum to be opened up to 3G in a move it believes will help the mobile broadband audience swell by 300 million people over the next five years in the Asian, African and European markets.

If the 900MHz spectrum was to be liberalised, operators could be using it to their advantage from 2010, while the removal of the technology-specific restrictions posed on the 1800MHz could happen as early as next year, enabling spectrum licence trading and transferral of rights. The regulator is also mulling over a similar plan of action for the 2100MHz band.

Ofcom has previously indicated that liberalisation of the 2G spectrum could provide financial fruits as well as service-oriented benefits, with the regulator estimating that the UK could benefit to the tune of as much as £6 billion.

"We can't see it, touch it or hear it, but radio spectrum is central to our lives and we are using mobile devices more than ever before," Ed Richards, Ofcom's chief executive, said when the consultation was launched.

"Our proposals are designed to make more spectrum available for high-speed mobile broadband services across the whole of the UK and to ensure that the UK mobile market continues to be one of the most competitive and innovative in the world."

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