Kerching! Ofcom flogs more spectrum

Ofcom has announced the results of its fourth radio spectrum auction, awarding licences to 10 organisations.

Wireless from A to Z

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A is for Antivirus
B is for Bluetooth
C is for The Cloud
D is for dotMobi
E is for Email
F is for FMC
G is for GPS
H is for HSDPA
I is for i-mode
J is for Japan Air
K is for Korea
L is for LBS
M is for M2M
N is for NFC
O is for Operating systems
P is for Pubs
Q is for QoS
R is for Roaming
S is for Satellite
T is for TV
U is for UMTS
V is for Virgin
W is for WiMax
X is for XDA
Y is for Yucca
Z is for Zigbee

The spectrum licences, which are technology and service neutral, are in the higher frequency bands at 10GHz to 40GHz, which is suitable for wireless network infrastructure and high capacity wireless services across buildings in close proximity.

Mobile operator T-Mobile UK was the biggest bidder, stumping up £321,000 for six licences in the 10GHz, 32GHz and 40GHz bands, while rival operator Orange paid £272,130 for two licences in the 32GHz band.

An Orange spokesperson told silicon.com: "Orange entered this spectrum auction for operational reasons. We have been successful in acquiring spectrum for use in our transmission network that is used for connecting our 2G and 3G networks."

Mobile comms company Arqiva, which was involved with O2's second mobile TV trial last year, paid a total of £260,500 for two lots of 28GHz spectrum. BT was the fourth largest bidder, splashing out £183,000 on two lots of 32GHz spectrum.

Operators may be keeping their powder dry for the upcoming auction of much-coveted digital dividend spectrum. Spectrum in this band will be freed up by the switch over to digital TV and will support transmissions that are able to penetrate buildings and cover large geographical areas using only relatively few transmitters.

The full list of 10GHz to 40GHz spectrum licences awarded can be found here.