Ofcom announces 4G spectrum auction for 2012

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Ofcom today confirmed the biggest spectrum auction in history will take place at the start of next year, in an attempt to encourage wider connectivity and faster mobile broadband speeds.

The telecoms regulator said both the 800MHz and 2.6GHz spectrums would be auctioned. The former has been freed up by the switch from analogue to digital television and will be suitable to boost current mobile broadband speeds. However, the higher frequency 2.6GHz band would enable faster connections and pave the way for 4G or Long Term Evolution (LTE) networks across the UK.

The auction has no set date but will occur within the first three months of 2012.

Ofcom released a statement assuring customers and companies alike it would focus on keeping competition alive in the sector, putting both minimum and maximum caps on how much spectrum providers could bid for.

It added if bids were not within these limits, with the spectrum split between at least four providers, the auction would be null and void.

Ofcom chief executive (CEO), Ed Richards, said: “Our role as the independent regulator is to award this spectrum in a way that secures the best use of the spectrum for the benefit of citizens and consumers in the UK.”

“That is why we are proposing to design the auction in a way that not only encourages investment but also promotes competition and delivers wide coverage of services.”

As well as the caps, providers will have to agree to serve 95 per cent of the population with the 800MHz spectrum band. Ofcom hoped this would create better coverage for rural areas, at least bringing them up to scratch with the current 2G coverage available in urban areas. The deadline for this network to be implemented was set for the end of 2017.

The regulator is also looking at whether imposing a rule to cover a set proportion of the population in certain locations could encourage the roll out of the 2.6GHz network to make its way into more rural locations as well.

The amount of spectrum up for auction next year is three times the amount the UK currently uses and 80 per cent more than the previous 3G auction back in 2000.

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