UK operator EE has defended Apple’s policy of preventing mobile operators from offering the iPhone 5 as an LTE device until it has tested the performance of their LTE networks. The operator launched its 4G network in September 2012, with the iPhone available at launch as an LTE device.

UK 4G spectrum licence winners BT and Vodafone have paid an additional fee to UK regulator Ofcom for preferred spectrum in the regulator’s final ‘assignment’ stage of the nation’s 4G auction. The final stage determines where each bidder’s holdings will sit in the radio spectrum.

After the UK’s latest auction of spectrum for the delivery of 4G services fell short of Government revenue targets earlier today, successful bidder Everything Everywhere has warned that 2013 will be a critical year for operators to address the “mobile video tsunami” before it is too late.

Last year, with a deft move that left its competitors fuming, Everything Everywhere became the first UK operator to offer LTE services. This week, as Ofcom’s LTE spectrum auction got underway, Everything Everywhere has become—rather less auspiciously—the first UK operator to slash its LTE retail charges.

Seven firms have qualified to bid in the UK’s 4G spectrum auction, including three new entrants. Joining EE, 3UK, O2 and Vodafone are HKT – a subsidiary of PCCW; MLL Telecom; and Niche Spectrum Ventures – a subsidiary of BT.

On Thursday, EE announced a major new phase in the build out of its UK 4G network. By committing to cover a further 17 towns and cities in 2013 and taking its total to 35, the speed of coverage expansion is proceeding faster than outlined in EE’s original strategy and noticeably faster than we have seen in most other 4G markets worldwide. By the end of 2014, EE hopes to achieve near nationwide population coverage and extend its 4G reach to 98 per cent of the UK population.

During the summer, the UK’s mobile operator community got to hone its skills on real time network performance management, when ten million visitors descended on the country’s capital for the Olympic and Paralympic Games.

UK regulator Ofcom has released its regulations and schedule for the auction of 800MHz and 2600MHz spectrum to be used for LTE services. The regulator has set a reserve price of £1.3bn for all available spectrum, including 2x15MHz of 1800MHz spectrum that Everything Everywhere is required to divest as part of the deal that saw it cleared to launch LTE at 1800MHz in October.

The UK holding company for the Orange, T-Mobile and EE brands, Everything Everywhere, has seen its service revenue drop three per cent in the quarter ending September 30, 2012. Revenue fell to £1.50bn for the quarter, for which the firm blamed the impact of mobile termination rate (MTR) and roaming cuts. The company said that without these cuts service revenue would have grown by 3.1 per cent.