Ofcom moves to delay UK spectrum auction

In a move that many didn’t see coming, telecommunications regulator Ofcom has announced that it is pushing back the scheduled 4G mobile auctions from early next year to around the end of the next year instead. Obviously, this news will come as a blow, especially to Three mobile who had earlier stated that they were at risk of running out of capacity if they are unable to purchase spectrum shares to keep up with the demands of mobile data.

In a statement, Ofcom explained that responses to the consultations that they made were strong enough to warrant the delay. The regular stated: “We received a number of substantial and strongly argued responses to this consultation.” Before holding the auction, Ofcom will be doing another round of consultation as whatever decision it comes to will “likely to shape the future of the mobile sector in the UK for the next decade or more.”

This news comes, even as many have reiterated that UK residents and businesses will be paying a price for being left behind in LTE technology.

The news was received warmly by Vodafone, which released the following statement: “We agree with Ofcom that there is time for reflection given that the spectrum will not be available until 2013. It is very important to get the rules right to ensure that the roll-out of 4G services benefits consumers and the wider economy.” Vodafone was one of several companies that Three mobile said was trying to delay the auction in order to try squeezing the latter out of the mobile market.

The spectrum that was to be sold at the auction are to be utilized to support 4G services that will enable users to browse Web sites faster and allow them to enjoy quicker downloads. The bands lined up for the auction include those in the 800MHz and 2.6GHz frequencies. Some parts of the spectrum to be sold were previously used by analogue television, but were phased out when digital TV was made available.

Source – BBC