UK regulator Ofcom has confirmed plans to hold the country’s 4G auction in the second quarter of next year at the earliest, despite originally planning to hold it in Q1 2012.
“Ofcom has been very explicit in its aim to begin the 4G auction as soon…
UK regulator Ofcom has confirmed plans to hold the country’s 4G auction in the second quarter of next year at the earliest, despite originally planning to hold it in Q1 2012.
“Ofcom has been very explicit in its aim to begin the 4G auction as soon as is practicable and this remains our objective,” said an Ofcom spokesperson.
“However, this is a complex area, involving a large number of technical and competition issues that we need to consider and resolve before finalising proposals. For example, a very high proportion of households in the UK rely on Digital Terrestrial TV – Freeview – which needs to be relocated before 4G can be rolled out. This kind of complex problem needs to be properly addressed before we award the spectrum.”
The spokesperson reaffirmed that it would not be possible for mobile operators to begin rolling out 4G networks until these issues are resolved, regardless of when the auction itself takes place. Ofcom continues to expect to finalise these factors in 2013, meaning 4G is still on course to be commercially available in 2014/2015.
David Dyson, the new CEO of the UK’s smallest operator Three, was cited on 4 September warning that any 4G delay would play into the hands of larger rivals Vodafone, O2 and Everything Everywhere, because of Ofcom’s decision to allow spectrum refarming
