4G Auction fixed for Next Year

According to reports, the telecommunications regulator of the United Kingdom has fired the starting gun for the next generation mobile broadband services with the network operators preparing for a hard battle to acquire licences at an auction next year.

Last day, Ofcom had announced its plans to conduct the largest single radio spectrum auction that would all all the major players including, Everything Everywhere, Vodafone, O2 and Three UK to provide 4G services for the customers in the United Kingdom.

A director at KPMG, Benoit Reilleier said that the announcement was a significant one that had been anticipated by everyone for a while. According to him, the outcome was potential of shaping the mobile scenario for years to come.

Ofcom meanwhile said that the auction would include coverage and safeguard conditions for promoting competition besides significantly widening the mobile broadband coverage to 95 per cent of the British population.

The 3G spectrum auction at the pinnacle of the dot com boom had raked in GBP 22.5 billion for the government, although many believe that the spectrum this time round, is likely to raise just between GBP 2 billion and GBP 4 billion.

The chief executive officer at Ofcom, Ed Richards said that the area was a hugely contested one, and referred to the strategic assets for competition for the next twenty years in the market.