Early auction of spectrum called for by WiMAX forum

With a number of countries around the world now making attempts to free up the necessary 4G wireless spectrum needed to build new WiMAX networks there are concerns that if left too long there will be little chance of WiMAX keeping ahead of its rival technology LTE.

The possibility of any national network provider in the UK offering a WiMAX broadband service in the near future is beginning to look increasingly slim following ongoing delays that are preventing the auction of the 2.6GHz wireless spectrum necessary to provide WiMAX services.

It was originally thought to be likely that a company like BT, which currently doesn’t provide cellular services, would be able to get ahead of the current 3G network providers and offer users a truly mobile broadband service using WiMAX technology in the same way as the US network provider Clearwire. This, however, relied on plans by Ofcom, the UK telecoms regulator to auction of the spectrum as early as 2008, making the UK the first in Europe to do so.

Recent plans had set later this year as the final date for the selling of the wireless spectrum, although if Ofcom continue with its latest plans to combine the auction of 2.6GHz and 800MHz the true date would most probably end up as 2011.

Requests for Ofcom to begin an auction straight away by releasing at least a small amount of the 2.6GHz spectrum from what many see as a super-auction, has been made by The WiMAX Forum.

In a recent statement the Forum praised the Digital Britain roadmap but said “The WiMAX Forum believes that it is in the best interest of the UK to release part of the 2.6GHz spectrum ahead and separately from any combined 800MHz/2.6GHz award, as previously planned.”

Source – Rethink-Wireless