Ofcom bans BT/EE from bidding on new 4G spectrum

In a bid to bring balance to the UK’s mobile industry, communications watchdog Ofcom has confirmed it will limit BT and EE’s role in upcoming 4G auctions. Next year, Ofcom will sell off 190 MHz of spectrum in the 2.3 GHz and 3.4 GHz bands, upping Britain’s overall 4G footprint by almost a third, but BT and its newly-purchased subsidiary will be excluded from bidding on the entire 2.3 GHz band. Ofcom is worried their involvement “could harm competition in the next few years” if they were allowed to own nearly half of the usable spectrum in the market.

As it stands, BT and EE own 45 percent of the “immediately useable” UK spectrum, which is mobile connectivity that can be deployed right away. Vodafone has 28 percent, while O2 and Three own 15 percent and 12 percent respectively. Regardless of what happens in the auction next year, BT and EE’s share of useable spectrum will fall from 45 percent to 42 percent as a result of Ofcom’s block.

The good news for BT and EE is that there won’t be any limits placed on the 3.4 GHz band. That’s because this part of the spectrum can’t immediately be deployed and is earmarked for the development of 5G services. The idea is to let operators acquire spectrum early so they can begin advancing and testing the next standard in mobile networking.

Although Ofcom first announced plans for the auction in November 2014, the process has been beset by delays. The original plan was to sell off the bands in late 2015, early 2016 but when Three owner Hutchison Whampoa tried (but ultimately failed) to buy O2, the auction was delayed again.

When the 2.3 GHz allocation is made available, more carriers will be able to offer speeds of up to 450 Mbps. Newer iPhones and Samsung devices already cater for Cat 9 bands, but device makers are already beginning to include support for faster 4G in new devices as standard.

Source: Ofcom