Ofcom has announced how valuable airwaves will be released to meet the growing demand for mobile broadband including new measures to safeguard competition.

Ofcom is helping to meet growing demand for mobile data by releasing extra spectrum, allowing mobile operators to increase their networks’ capacity.

Later this year we will auction licences to use 190 MHz of spectrum in two ‘frequency bands’ – 2.3 GHz and 3.4 GHz – increasing the airwaves available for mobile devices by almost one third.

The auction rules set out today are designed to reflect recent market developments and safeguard competition over the coming years.

The rules include competition safeguards. When auctioning the spectrum, Ofcom will impose two different restrictions on bidders. These will limit the amount of spectrum operators can win in the 2.3 GHz band; and place overall limits on the spectrum an operator can win across the 2.3 GHz and 3.4 GHz bands in aggregate.

Ofcom Statement - https://www.ofcom.org.uk/consultations-and-statements/category-1/award-of-the-spectrum-bands