Mobile broadband spectrum legislation expected this month in UK

It has taken three years or wrangling and a last minute decision by Everything Everywhere not to sue the Government, but finally legislation is due to be published this month to allow radio spectrum freed by the switch to digital television to  be auctioned in 2012 and repurposed for mobile broadband services.

It is not yet clear whether Everything Everywhere has been given assurances over a cap on the total amount of valuable low frequency spectrum a single company can own. However, the company, formed by the merger of Orange and T-Mobile, has decided to put its effort in to shaping the rules suggested in this month’s legislation rather than seek retribution through the courts.

The argument goes back to the first provision of mobile licences. Vodafone and, what is now, O2 were given 900Mhz licences which, being a low frequency, would offer good coverage for the country’s first mobiles. When they were joined by two players which have now merged to form Everything Everywhere, 1800Mhz licences were granted and when the country’s five 3G licences were issued, 2.2Ghz spectrum was awarded.

With mobile broadband a key component of pushing 3G and, later, 4G services in to rural areas who are unlikely to receive fibre, the pressure has been on the previous and current Government to use the ‘digital dividend’ of 800Mhz spectrum, released by the switchover to digital television, to give mobile broadband operators the necessary low frequency, long distance airwaves necessary.

Everything Everywhere’s big bone of contention, however, is that if Vodafone and O2 are to keep their 900Mhz spectrum, and not ‘refarm’ any to rivals, they should not be allowed to bid for 800Mhz licences because this would give the pair an unfair advantage.

Through dropping its legal action to place a cap on Vodafone and O2 the merged mobile operator must be hoping, or may even have been privately assured, that when legislation is published before the end of the month, Vodafone and O2 will not be able to dominate both the existing 900Mhz wavebands as well as the to be released 800Mhz spectrum.

All four British mobile operators, and possibly new entrants, will now be watching out for the legislation which the Government will hope to put an end to bitter wrangling and see faster mobile broadband services with better reach rolled out across the country.

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Tags: 3G, 4G, Broadband, Everything Everywhere, Mobile Broadband, O2, UK Spectrum Auction, Vodafone

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UK temporarily giving LTE spectrum to cameras for 2012 Olympics, tells carriers not to worry about it

You might recall that British regulator Ofcom recently got things in order for an auction late next year of Old Blighty’s 2.6GHz spectrum for 4G use, but it turns out that spectrum’s going to make a quick pit stop before reaching its final destination. Broadcasters at the London Olympics have been given the green light to use the bandwidth — which will have already been sold by the time the games kick off in mid-2012 — for wireless cameras, with the government saying it’s fairly certain that carriers wouldn’t have had an opportunity to deploy LTE in that spectrum by then anyway. Though Ofcom’s original spectrum utilization plan from last year didn’t call for using 2.6GHz, it apparently got a wake-up call from the Vancouver games, which revealed higher demand for both wireless cameras and 3D broadcasts than the agency had anticipated — and unlike carriers, which are expected to pay billions of pounds sterling for LTE rights, Ofcom will be extending use of the bandwidth to broadcasters during the Games gratis. Awfully kind of them, isn’t it?

Article: RSS via: Engadget

Tags: 2012, 2012 Olympic Games, 4G, London, LTE, Ofcom, UK Spectrum Auction

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Mobile broadband spectrum auctions get green light

The long-awaited sell-off of airwaves crucial for next-generation mobile services has finally moved a step closer.

The UK government has said auctions will take place late next year, after months of wrangling between the operators.

It should create new mobile broadband offerings and improve mobile coverage.

But the operators are still split over how they want to see new and existing spectrum divvied up.

Rural broadband

Minister for Communications Ed Vaizey has instructed regulator Ofcom to co-ordinate the auction “as soon as possible”.

“The past 20 years has seen a revolution in mobile technologies and devices that have transformed the way we communicate, learn and do business,” said Mr Vaizy.

“We want the UK market to remain at the fore of delivering devices like the iPad and smart phones but they need the networks to continue to improve and increase services,” he added.

The auctions were originally scheduled for 2009 but have been the subject of long delays as operators dispute how it should be conducted.

“It is a complete mess but this is a good first step. There was a real risk that it would be pushed back even further which would have seen the UK fall behind in the European league tables,” said Matthew Howett, an analyst with research firm Ovum.

“It is by no means plain sailing though and there will be rough seas ahead,” he added.

The auction will see two chunks of the spectrum – the 800MHz and 2.6GHz bands – sold off.

Both have great value to operators.

Sharing it

The 800MHz slice – which has been freed up by the switchover to digital TV – allows mobile signals to travel over greater distances, making it invaluable in the search to find ways of bringing broadband to rural areas.

The higher capacity 2.6GHz band will be more useful in towns and cities where lots of users require services.

One of the more controversial aspects of the government’s recommendations is that spectrum originally earmarked for 2G services be freed up for 3G services.

This slice of spectrum – 900MHz – belongs exclusively to Vodafone and 02 because they were the only two mobile operators on the market when it was handed out.

While 02 welcomed the opportunity to use the spectrum for 3G services, it is not so keen on the idea of sharing it with other operators.

“We believe the government is right to direct Ofcom to allow O2 to deploy UMTS900, without condition,” O2 said in a statement.

Meanwhile Three called on Ofcom to make sure there was a level playing field for all.

“It is critical for UK consumers that in setting out the auction process Ofcom addresses the distortions now created by allowing the incumbent operators to retain full access to 2G spectrum,” said a spokesman for Three.

Across Europe there have so far been six spectrum auctions and Sweden has already launched next-generation mobile services.

Article: RSS via: BBC News

Tags: 2.6GHz, 2G, 3G, 800MHz, BBC News, Broadband, Ed Vaizey, Mobile Broadband, O2, Ofcom, Rural Broadband, Three, UK Government, UK Spectrum Auction, UMTS900, Vodafone

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UK operators face ‘perfect storm’

Market and economic forces conspire as network operators are braced for major double investment in UK spectrum and infrastructure, according to O2 UK boss Ronan Dunne

Telefónica O2 UK chief executive Ronan Dunne (pictured) set out the stark investment issues facing UK network operators last week, with a new UK coalition government required to reverse the biggest budget deficit in the modern era and a spectrum auction on the horizon that could raise considerable funds.

Dunne made clear UK operators are mindful a 2011 spectrum auction might be considered a way to raise public finances, especially in light of recent money-spinning auctions in India and Germany, where 700 billion rupees (£10.5bn) and €4.4 billion (£3.67bn) was raised in the sale of spectrum for 3G and 4G usage, respectively.

The market climate – with latest quarterly operator results again showing no real customer growth, and regulatory proposals in place to slash mobile termination rates (MTRs) in degrees by almost 90 per cent within the next five years – already puts intense pressure on operator investment programmes, remarked Dunne.

He explained: “All operators are concerned by the timing of the spectrum auction, and the possible influence upon it of economic conditions, and the investment case that might be made for it consequently. You couple that with regulation around mobile termination rates and it is a difficult situation.

“Everyone is in the same boat. In Europe, at this stage, the spectrum issues are not clear – because of policy, debate, change of government and so on. But the return on investment is the most important thing. The prospect is that calculation might be unappealing with this perfect storm – mature market, tough economic conditions, regulation of MTRs, spectrum investment and infrastructure funding.”

He said: “2011 will be a massive year for this industry in those terms.”

Vodafone UK chief executive Guy Laurence also said the new government must urgently examine the issue of UK spectrum, and the case for refarming existing bandwidth, alongside frequencies that will come available from analogue television, for usage with all mobile transmission technologies.

“It is essential the new government takes a fresh look at the crucial issue of spectrum allocation if it wishes to make a success of our digital economy and give operators a fair opportunity to compete,” said Laurence.

CCS Insight director of operator strategy, applications and content Paolo Pescatore said: “This new government is looking to cut costs and raise income, and one of the easiest ways to do that is with a spectrum sale.”

Meanwhile, Dunne dismissed criticism of UK operators’ infrastructure in general, and said various foreign HSPA and LTE deployments remained in their infancy, and are essentially neat PR jobs. He said no operator has yet grasped successfully issues with ‘quality of service’ and traffic management, even if certain infrastructure is in place.

Dunne explained: “Telefónica has been running LTE trials itself, with download speeds of up to 160Mbps. So we will be ready by the time the spectrum is available to us. But this is not a technology arms race. The same exam question is on the desk of every chief technology officer at every operator the world, which is about how to approach this – the right specification, right technology, right traffic management.

“The industry is very keen for customers to try mobile data and to experience it. But to build, we must invest in spectrum, technology and traffic management; and manage customers’ expectations and this idea of unlimited data.

“I don’t think network operators in any part of the world are close to delivering in terms of traffic management. It is only a fledgling technology now. We all have to get better at ‘quality of service’ and segregate different user activity.”

Dunne said O2 UK is already preparing the ground for its investment in spectrum and infrastructure in 2011 by profiling its customers and mining usage data.

“We are already building capability into both our fixed and mobile networks so we can differentiate types of customer and usage. So that if you want email and text, you take one type of tariff; if you share lots of video, you take another; and if you’re interested in speed and dedicated bandwidth for 7.45pm Champions League kick offs, then there is another still.”

Dunne added: “But at the moment, all data is amorphous and unmanaged, which creates an inconsistent experience, and causes bottlenecks. All customers are dumped into one bucket. But it will change in the coming months. The period of unlimited data tariffs is almost over.”

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Tags: 2011, Mobile News, O2, Ronan Dunne, Telefonica, UK Spectrum Auction

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