UK Communications Minister, Ed Vaizey, has outlined proposals that will see the country releasing yet more radio spectrum by 2020. The announcement follows finalisation of plans to hold an auction for LTE band early next year.

April 1, 2011

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UK government to release publicly held spectrum
O" is trialling its LTE network in London while eAccess is carrying out a trial in Japan

UK Communications Minister, Ed Vaizey, has outlined proposals that will see the country releasing yet more radio spectrum by 2020. The announcement follows finalisation of plans to hold an auction for LTE band early next year.

According to the Minister, the plans forms part of a long-term project to “ensure industry is able to meet the growing demand for services that need spectrum.” The public sector currently holds about half of the most useful spectrum available in the UK and, in a report entitled Enabling Public Growth –Releasing Public Spectrum, has committed to releasing 500MHz over the next decade.

Public sector-held spectrum is used for a broad range of services, including defence and emergency services as well as transport. According to the report, the Ministry of Defence has already indentified the 2310-2390MHz and 3400-3600MHz bands as ones from which it can release 160MHz of spectrum.

According to the report, releasing spectrum can be complex because many bands are covered by international agreements and changes in use can cause interference. Once a band is ready to be released, it could be sold. Eased or allocated for licence-exempt uses, such as wifi. According to the report, the Government will “ensure that any future spectrum needs for public safety and national security are considered before any band is released.”

The release of the 500MHz spectrum will be in addition to the 800MHz and 2.6GHz spectrum auction that Ofcom intends to auction in 2012.

The seventh annual LTE World Summit takes place in Amsterdam on 17th – 18th May

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