Ofcom frees up radio spectrum

Satdude

Ofcom frees up radio spectrum

The British government, including the Ministry of Defence, will be able to share or trade some of the most valuable radio spectrum in the country under new guidelines being drawn up by the UK's communications regulator.

The Office of Communications, or Ofcom, said on Thursday it expected the new rules to free up some prime spectrum held by the public sector, which has been estimated to be worth between £3bn and £20bn, for new mobile services.

"Public bodies and the (Ministry of Defence) in particular hold some of the most valuable and sought-after radio spectrum," said Ofcom chief executive Ed Richards, who aims to consult the industry about its plans to enable public spectrum trading in the summer. "By working with these organisations we are enabling them to trade and release this spectrum, which will create new opportunities for the development of wireless services for the whole country."

The Ministry of Defense, which holds around a third of the most-sought-after public-sector spectrum, said it is committed to sharing and releasing "a significant proportion" of its spectrum and plans to consult on proposals in May. Public bodies such as the MoD use around half of the radio spectrum below 15GHz -- the most coveted and congested frequencies.

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