UK 4G rollout scheduled for next summer

Country continues to lag behind other nations with Ofcom releasing details of upcoming spectrum auction set for end of 2012

The UK is going to have to wait until at least next summer for a 4G network rollout, Ofcom has revealed.

This is despite nearly three dozen countries including the US, already having a 4G network up and running.

The telecoms regulator today revealed that the auction of spectrum for mobile services in the UK will start at the end of the year, but will offer 80 per cent more capacity than the 3G auction in 2000.

According to Ofcom, the plans will see mobile broadband rolled out to at least 98 per cent of people in villages, towns and cities across the UK, using 4G to deliver faster mobile data speeds to phones and other devices.

And to ensure a competitive market, Ofcom has reserved some of the available spectrum for a fourth national wholesaler apart from the three largest mobile operators.

Ed Richards, chief executive of Ofcom, said: “The 4G auction has been designed to deliver the maximum possible benefit for consumers and citizens across the UK.”

The 4G auction will offer at least two spectrum bands – 800 MHz and 2.6 GHz. The lower frequency 800 MHz band is part of the ‘digital dividend’, which is ideal for widespread mobile coverage. The higher frequency 2.6 GHz band is ideal for delivering the capacity needed to deliver faster speeds. These two bands add up to 250 MHz of additional mobile spectrum, compared to 333 MHz in use today.

Ofcom said it expects the auction process to start before the end of this year, with prospective bidders required formally to apply to take part. Those applications will then be assessed by Ofcom before the bidding phase starts, likely to be in early 2013.

Mobile operators are expected to start rolling out 4G networks using the auctioned spectrum from the middle of 2013, and to start offering 4G services to customers later that year.