4G auction raises less than expected
1 min read
Telecoms regulator Ofcom has raised £2.34billion from its auction of 4G mobile spectrum licenses, undershooting the £3.5bn the government had expected to raise and significantly less than the £22.5bn the 3G auction brought in 12 years ago.
The licenses were sold to five winning bidders: Everything Everywhere, Hutchison 3G UK, BT subsidiary Niche Spectrum Ventures, Telefonica (O2) and Vodafone.
Ed Richards, Ofcom chief executive, told the BBC that the amount was lower because "we are in very, very different times".
"What we were trying to do was ensure that a valuable economic resource was brought into productive commercial use," he noted.
The spectrum was auctioned in two bands - 800MHz and 2.6GHz.
"This will allow 4G networks to achieve widespread coverage as well as offering capacity to cope with significant demand in urban centres," Richards added.
"4G coverage will extend far beyond that of existing 3G services, covering 98% of the UK population indoors - and even more when outdoors - which is good news for parts of the country currently underserved by mobile broadband."
