The upcoming 4G mobile auction should be used as an opportunity to upgrade the UK's mobile infrastructure, says an advisory group.
The Communications Consumer Panel said regulator Ofcom should oblige operators to extend services to rural areas.It also suggested the money made by selling off the airwaves could be used to upgrade rural coverage.
It estimates that three million people live in mobile "not-spots".
The panel said it did not believe that new 4G services would extend beyond existing coverage.
4G is the next-generation for mobile services, offering faster speeds, crucial as more people use smartphones to surf the web.
The panel is suggesting that Ofcom run a "reverse auction" after the initial sell-off, in which operators can bid for money to extend their services in rural areas.
Valuable spectrum The 4G auctions begin next year with services likely to start rolling out from 2013.
There is a great deal of interest in the spectrum - which has been freed because of the switch to digital TV - as it operates in the low frequency 800MHz band.
This spectrum will be particularly good at penetrating buildings and will allow operators to offer better in-building coverage which is becoming an increasing problem as people use their smartphones at home.
The money freed up by the 4G auctions must be ploughed back into notspots, said the panel.
Posts
0 comments:
Post a Comment