Ofcom is considering letting mobile operators share their spectrum allocations to help manage increasing data loads and improve the UK's mobile broadband capacity.
The move would allow operators to share, swap or lease spectrum in the 900MHz, 1,800MHz and 2,100MHz ranges to address specific areas where there is a larger demand on spectrum holdings than operators can manage.
Ofcom chief executive Ed Richards explained that the decision is part of a necessary move to help operators match the growing demand for mobile services from businesses and consumers.
"This is an important milestone in the modernisation of spectrum management in the UK. It comes in response to the fast pace of change and innovation taking place in the mobile communications sector," he said.
"One important way of meeting this demand is making the acquisition of spectrum as flexible as possible."
Ofcom has
opened a consultation on the issue until 17 March to assess the industry's reaction.
Vodafone said that it is too early to comment on the matter directly, while Everything Everywhere and O2 had not responded to requests for comment at the time of publication.
Everything Everywhere has already announced plans
to sell a portion of its 1,800MHz spectrum to other mobile operators, as part of stipulations set by the Competition Commission following the merger of Orange and T-Mobile.
V3.co.uk understands that Everything Everywhere must do this before the auctions for the digital dividend spectrum in the 2.6GHz range take place in the first quarter of 2012.
The Ofcom announcement comes after Cisco predicted that worldwide mobile data traffic will increase by a factor of 26 between 2010 and 2015 to hit 6.3 exabytes a month, underlining the need for mobile operators to tackle this huge growth.
Cisco explained that the surge in traffic will be driven by a continued rise in mobile-ready devices such as tablets and smartphones, and an increasing desire to watch video content.
Source:-
V3.co.uk.
