Ofcom auctions off wireless spectrum

 

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By Simon Aughton & Matthew Sparkes

Posted on 3 Dec 2007 at 13:00

Ofcom has announced details of its fourth radio spectrum auction, part of an on-going campaign announced in 2005 to open up unused frequencies for uses such as high-speed broadband.

The auction will take place early next year, providing parties with the chance to buy licences for the 10GHz, 28GHz, 32GHz and 40GHz spectrum bands.

These frequencies are capable of carrying large amounts of data over distances of up to 12km, but speeds will depend on the uses that licensees decide to make of the spectrum.

Ofcom notes that one use could be to share wireless internet connections across buildings in close proximity, where data transfer rates of around 2Gb/sec would be possible.

The provisional date for applications to take part in the online auction is 16 January 2008. Previous spectrum auctions in the programme took place in January 2005, June 2006 and August 2007.