The CEO of UK regulator Ofcom is cautiously optimistic that mobile operators in the country are ready to relax litigation pursuits to avoid spectrum auction delays.
For more than three years, British telcos have been embroiled in spectrum allocation…
The CEO of UK regulator Ofcom is cautiously optimistic that mobile operators in the country are ready to relax litigation pursuits to avoid spectrum auction delays.
For more than three years, British telcos have been embroiled in spectrum allocation disputes, which have delayed government plans to auction spectrum suitable for high-speed networks.
However, following mobile operator Everything Everywhere’s decision to drop its threat to sue the government over spectrum auction plans, Ofcom’s Ed Richards said he was hopeful that they will avoid further delays.
Everything Everywhere had planned to launch legal proceedings because proposed spectrum legislation lacks a cap on frequencies its rivals, such as Vodafone, could own after they are auctioned in 2012.
“My sense is there had been a big change among the mobile operators,” Richards told a press conference yesterday.
“The British consumer does want a lot of data capacity for their iPhone and their iPad, and the companies can see a clear way to providing that.”
Richards was speaking after Ofcom released research that revealed the UK has one of the fastest growing smartphone markets in Europe.
Outlining an “ambitious” timetable to provide commercial UK 4G from early 2014, Richards cautioned on 23 November that these plans could be jeopardised by future litigation against the government.
