UK mobile operators have been given the regulatory green-light to repurpose their 900MHz and 1800MHz spectrum, enabling them to expand capacity for 3G services.
Vodafone, O2 and Everything Everywhere, the Orange and T-mobile JV, have previously been…
UK mobile operators have been given the regulatory green-light to repurpose their 900MHz and 1800MHz spectrum, enabling them to expand capacity for 3G services.
Vodafone, O2 and Everything Everywhere, the Orange and T-mobile JV, have previously been required to use allocations in these bands for 2G services.
However, UK regulator Ofcom has ruled that “liberalising 900MHz and 1800MHz spectrum in the hands of the existing licensees is likely to benefit consumers and is unlikely to result in a material distortion of competition that requires further action to be taken”.
The ruling will help the operators cope with surging demand for mobile broadband services brought on by the rapid take up of smartphones.
A spokesman for O2 welcomed the Ofcom announcement, saying it “will allow a process that has taken over three years to come to a rapid conclusion”.
