Qualcomm confirmed on Wednesday it has sold its 40 MHz of U.K. L-band spectrum to Vodafone and 3UK.
The operators have each agreed to acquire 20 MHz of the spectrum, which is in the 1452 MHz-1492 MHz range, and was recently allocated by the EU for use as supplemental downlink (SDL) to boost 4G capacity.
"SDL can help meet the demand for more downlink centric services, such as video on-demand, to be delivered seamlessly to mobile devices over a cellular data connection, even as data traffic levels continue to increase," said Qualcomm, in a statement.
The chip maker’s U.K. subsidiary, Qualcomm UK Spectrum (QUKS) paid just £8.34 million for the nationwide, technology-agnostic frequency licence at an auction in May 2008.
There was widespread speculation at the time that Qualcomm planned to use it to deliver its MediaFLO mobile TV service; however, the company opted to use it for R&D purposes instead.
Following the EU’s decision to re-allocate the L band for SDL, Qualcomm confirmed plans to offload it.
News of the sale to Vodafone and 3UK first emerged in a report by The Times on 14 August, which valued the deal at more than £100 million.
At the time Qualcomm kept quiet though, and on Wednesday it refrained from disclosing the value of the transaction.
Both sales are subject to regulatory approval, Qualcomm said, adding that Vodafone and 3UK will apply to Ofcom for permission to transfer the spectrum.
