US chipmaker Qualcomm (NASDAQ:QCOM) has sold its 40 MHz of L-band spectrum in the UK to Vodafone (LSE:VOD) and Three in two separate transactions.
US chipmaker Qualcomm (NASDAQ:QCOM) has sold its 40 MHz of L-band spectrum in the UK to Vodafone (LSE:VOD) and Three in two separate transactions.
Akira Partners managed the private auction, which TelecomFinance understands raised in the region of £200m (US$312m) for Qualcomm.
The sale price represents a huge profit on the £8.3m (US$13m) Qualcomm paid for the 15-year 1452 – 1492 MHz licence in 2008.
Approved for supplemental downlink (SDL) services earlier this year, the L-band frequencies will help Vodafone and Three meet the demand for downlink-centric services such as video.
The European Union and Ofcom mandated the spectrum for SDL services in May having worked with Qualcomm in recent years to create a new standard. The US group invested in R&D to design chips suitable to work with the band, although no handsets are compatible with the airwaves yet.
Vodafone and Three have each acquired 20 MHz of the L-band spectrum and are now preparing to submit spectrum trading applications to Ofcom.
Vodafone, Three and Akira declined to comment on the sale price and Qualcomm did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
The regulator will take an initial two to three weeks to assess the proposal from a competition perspective, and could then choose to launch a more in-depth review if it has concerns.