November 21, 2016: The Office of Communications (Ofcom) published on its website a public notice informing all interested parties about an upcoming consultation related to its planned auction of spectrums in the 2.3GHz and 3.4GHz bands. The objective of the auction is to release a total of 190MHz worth of spectrum, broken down as: 40MHz in the 2.3GHz band (2350MHz-2390MHz), and 150MHz in the 3.4GHz band (3410MHz-3480MHz, 3500MHz-3580MHz).
The objective of the consultation is to exclude BT (and its subsidiary EE) of 2.3GHz auction, Ofcom reports that given the dominant shareholding with 45% (Vodafone has 28%; O2 holds 15%; and H3G, 12%) of the total amount of mobile spectrum currently in use, they will be prohibited from participating in the 2.3GHz frequency auction, but they will able to participate in the 3.4GHz band auction, as it is not immediately usable.
The 2.3GHz spectrum will be made available in Scotland, Wales and England, but not in Northern Ireland, while the 3.4GHz spectrum will be made available throughout the European Union.
The consultation is open to submissions until January 30, 2017.