UK green lights spectrum refarming
Disputes remain over sub-1GHz caps, but carriers are now free to use GSM bands for 3G
Published: 7 January, 2011
READ MORE: Spectrum | UK | Regulator | UMTS
After years of legal wrangling, UK regulator Ofcom has given the green light for operators to refarm 2G spectrum for 3G services. In its statement, the agency said this was designed to help cellcos "increase mobile broadband speeds, deliver improved in-building coverage and widen mobile broadband coverage in rural areas".
The UK is among the first EU countries to implement refarming, though it has been a long time coming. Most of the disputes of the past few years have centered on the fact that only Vodafone and O2 hold spectrum in the 900MHz GSM band, which is more cost effective for building out 3G in sparsely populated areas.
The other carrier, Everything Everywhere (the Orange/T-Mobile joint venture) has its GSM licenses in 1.8GHz. It had objected to refarming without Vodafone and O2 being forced to redistribute some of their 900MHz rights, but it dropped its last legal actions last November. However, it is still calling for all operators to have their sub-1GHz spectrum holdings capped, which would affect the 800MHz digital dividend auctions planned for next year. All three cellcos plus 3UK have 3G licenses in 2.1GHz and there will also be a 2012 auction of 2.6GHz frequencies.
The refarming move stems from a European Union directive issued in late December, which called for regulators across the EU to allow reuse of 2G bands as soon as possible. Finland, Sweden and France have already opened up 900MHz spectrum for 3G.
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