(qlmbusinessnews.com via cityam.com – – Thur, 5 April 2018) London, Uk – –
Mobile phone companies Hutchison 3G, Telefonica, EE and Vodafone were the successful bidders in Ofcom’s 4G and 5G airwave spectrum auction it was announced this morning.
US-challenger Airspan Spectrum Holdings was the only bidder to come away empty handed in the first stage of the auction which has raised £1.355bn.
Communications regulator Ofcom was offering lots in two frequency bands: 2.3 (gigahertz) GHz which is usable by contemporary mobile phones and will help improve mobile users 4G capacity, and 3.4 GHz, which is earmarked for 5G, the next generation of mobile technology.
EE won 40 megahertz (MHz) of 3.4 GHz spectrum at the cost of £302.59m, Hutchison won 20 MHz of 3.4 GHz spectrum costing £151.20m, Telefonica won all 40 MHz available of 2.3 GHz spectrum at a cost of £317.72m and Vodafone won 50 MHz of 3.4 GHz spectrum costing £378.24m.
The auction will now move to an assignment stage where the winners from stage one will bid to determine where in the frequency bands their new spectrum will be located.
Both Vodafone and EE parent BT saw their share prices rise by more than one per cent in early trading this morning.
Spectrum group director at Ofcom Philip Marnick said: “This is good news for everyone who uses their mobile phone to access the internet. As a nation we’re using ever more mobile data on smartphones and mobile devices. Releasing these airwaves will make it quicker and easier to get online on the move. It will also allow companies to prepare for 5G mobile, paving the way for a range of smart, connected devices.”
By James Booth
