Ofcom to launch next-generation 4G consultations

The telecoms regulator is to launch consultations later on how best to sell off the rights to the next generation of mobile wireless networks.

The auction of the so-called fourth generation, or 4G, spectrum will be the largest ever.

The last time Ofcom held an auction, for 3G in 2000, it raised a record £22.5bn for the Treasury - well before the rise of smartphones that are now so prevalent.

The auction itself will happen in 2012.

The additional spectrum to be sold off should mean faster speeds for downloading data - such as music and movies - to phones as more capacity is made spare for all the networks.

The actual parts of the spectrum being sold - at the 800MHz and 2.6GHz bandwidths - will be parts of the wireless spectrum historically used by analogue TV, which is being switched off as digital is rolled out.

Competition concerns

Smartphones such as the iPhone, Google Android and tablet devices are big users of bandwidth, which means there has been a squeeze on what is left.

Ofcom has even allowed mobile phone carriers like Vodafone and O2 to use parts of the old 2G network until more of the spectrum is made available.

The UK network Three has complained about that, and about its fears for the auction.

The country's smallest mobile phone operator is worried that its rivals will outbid it at auction, buying up larger slices of the available bandwidth and squeezing Three out of the market altogether.

Ofcom should respond to those concerns in the consultation.

Full Article: http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-12811122