WIREDGOV

Ofcom has announced how valuable airwaves will be released to meet the growing demand for mobile broadband, including new measures to safeguard competition.

• Auction will help meet mobile broadband demand and support 5G mobile
• Safeguards for competition, including new cap on overall spectrum
• Airwaves for mobile broadband to increase by almost a third

People and businesses increasingly need reliable, high-speed mobile broadband to support devices such as smartphones and tablets. Ofcom is helping to meet this demand by releasing extra spectrum, allowing mobile operators to increase their networks’ capacity.

Later this year we will auction licences to use 190 MHz of spectrum in two ‘frequency bands’, increasing the airwaves available for mobile devices by almost one third.

40 MHz of spectrum will be auctioned in the 2.3GHz band. This band is already supported by mobile devices from manufacturers such as Apple and Samsung. These airwaves could be used immediately after release to provide extra capacity, meaning faster downloads and internet browsing for mobile users.

In addition, 150 MHz of spectrum will be auctioned in the 3.4GHz band. These airwaves are not compatible with most current mobile devices, but are expected to be usable by future phones and tablets. The 3.4GHz band has been identified as central to the rollout of 5G mobile across Europe.

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