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Six pre-approved bidders will be able to submit their offers to Ofcom for spectrum in the 3.4GHz band from the 20th March 2018
Ofcom has confirmed that bidding for spectrum in the 2.3GHz and 3.4GHz band will begin on Tuesday 20th March 2018.
While the 2.3GHz spectrum is expected to attract bids from mobile operators looking to improve their current mobile broadband services, the 3.4GHz band spectrum will be used for 5G services.
Ofcom has already preapproved six bidders for the auction – the UK’s four network operators (namely 02, EE, Vodafone and Three), plus Connexin Limited and Airspan Spectrum Holdings Ltd.
The move has been welcomed by industry experts who are keen to see the UK get ahead of the curve for rolling out 5G services.
“Today is a significant step in the UK’s 5G ambitions. 2018 will be a pivotal year for developing a future-focused 5G spectrum policy to help ensure that spectrum is allocated in a way that supports the government’s mobile ambitions to be a world leader," said Colin Sempill, MD, of network solutions specialist’s SSE Enterprise Telecoms.
"The investment required to enable 5G is too great for individual operators to shoulder alone, therefore the market will see alternative infrastructure aggregators emerge – building for multiple service providers and providing a genuine alternative to traditional wholesalers. SSE Enterprise Telecoms sees a possibility that the government may decide to licence spectrum in a way that enables pure-play service providers to take a stake outside of the traditional operators,” he added.
