The Greek mobile market is in a spin this week after national regulator the EETT issued a proposal for the re-auctioning of GSM spectrum licenses which are due to expire in 2012. The move is controversial because it is an unusual renewal process, but also because the authority has set reserve prices at more than double the European average.
UK communications regulator Ofcom on Thursday officially opened the doors for mobile operators to use their 2G spectrum for 3G services. Measures to allow refarming of 2G spectrum will see the UK follow other European countries including Finland, France and Portugal in the deployment of UMTS in the spectrum bands formerly reserved for GSM.
The rolling out of 3G services in the 900MHz spectrum band, traditionally reserved for 2G operations, is making headway. This week, the world’s first HSPA+ commercial network in the 900MHz band launched in Poland.
The EU’s official ratification of the updated GSM Directive is good news for operators across the region. The move means that governments will now be obliged to allow them to use 2G spectrum to roll out 3G and other high-speed technologies in the 900MHz band.
The Finns have long been at the forefront of the spectrum refarming movement, and the deployment of 3G in the 900MHz band made further headway this week with TeliaSonera.
The next six months could prove crucial for shaping future mobile broadband rollouts in Europe, with a number of key spectrum decisions and tenders on the horizon. These developments involve UMTS900, 2.6GHz spectrum and frequencies released by the digital switchover.