TMCnet News
U.K.'s Ofcom Announces Results of Low-power GSM AuctionBy Mae Kowalke TMCnet Associate Editor U.K. telecommunications industry regulator Ofcom announced today the results of its recent low-power GSM auction. The auction was held to determine which wireless carriers will be allowed to provide services using the 3.3MHz spectrum at the top end of the GSM 1800 MHz band.
Ofcom said in a press release about the auction that the vast majority of wireless phones in the U.K. are capable of working in this spectrum, so winning bidders gain a mass, niche market. Winning bidders in the auction were:
Ofcom said it expects the winning bidders will use the 3.3MHz spectrum to offer new services, designed to fulfill the needs of specific customer bases, such as:
The auction, Ofcom said, was the first of its kind in that it makes available to selected carriers “a small prime piece of GSM spectrum for concurrent use in a technology neutral way.”
Sandra Gilligan of Mobile200 commented in the release that “There are a variety of products on the market for GSM networks, but only a limited number offer scalability and a good fit for the various applications that will enable the new mobile operators to be successful.”
For more information about the 3.3MHz spectrum and GSM services, visit www.lowpowergsm.com.
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Mae Kowalke previously wrote for Cleveland Magazine in Ohio and The Burlington Free Press in Vermont. To see more of her articles, please visit Mae Kowalke’s columnist page.
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