Consultation by Ofcom to release more spectrum for mobile broadband

The latest proposals for increasing the amount of bandwidth available to mobile broadband services has been announced by telecoms regulator, Ofcom, with the release of even more spectrum in a similar way to Europe.

A new consultation that will be proposing to release an even larger chunk of the old analogue TV radio spectrum, which can then be used by Mobile Broadband services, has been launch by Ofcom, the telecommunications regulator.

The EU has already chosen to release an even wider segment of the spectrum than the UK, at 790 to 862MHz or the so-call 80MHz band, and this new move has been designed to match this activity.

By making the whole of the 800 MHz band range available to new users Ofcom believes that it would provide a whole range of added benefits to both consumers and citizens alike.

Over the next 20 years Ofcom believes that for consumers the net benefits could be worth as much as £2 to £3 billion. With the release of the extra spectrum user and providers will see benefits like reduced prices for consumers on mobile broadband equipment, greater scope for innovation and competition in new wireless broadband services, enhance opportunities for any new generations of mobile broadband and a more efficient use of the spectrum itself.

A few changes to the spectrum currently being used by the digital terrestrial television (DTT) services and wireless microphones would be the downside to the extension of the digital dividend. This, however, is expected to have a very small impact in the real world with the re-tuning of consumers’ set-top boxes (STB) being the worst that would happen.

A statement on this issue is expected to be published by Ofcom in the summer of 2009 and it is currently expected that 2010 will see the auction for the digital dividend in the UK being held.