20 November 2007
Telecoms regulator Ofcom is planning further liberalisation of the radio spectrum, opening it up to a raft of competing new technologies.
The 900Mhz band is currently used by phone firms Vodafone and O2 to run their 2G phone services.
However, with the technology swiftly becoming outmoded thanks to the successful launch of 3G and the development of mobile broadband, Ofcom has launched a consultation on opening up the 2G bandwidth for other services.
Opening up the radio spectrum is good news for industry, because it would encourage competitiveness between firms and better efficiency of the bandwidth's use.
"The decision regarding the 900Mhz band is of particular interest to mobile providers because its low frequency is suitable for the deployment of 3G services in rural and built-up areas," computing.co.uk reports.
Further future competition over the spectrum is anticipated as analogue TV signals are switched off in the national transition to digital broadcasting services.
Last month, Ofcom warned TV companies including the BBC that it could not automatically expect to use the extra spectrum bandwidth for their future HD-TV services freed-up by the analogue switchoff - and that many other firms would be in competition for its use.
The regulator's 900Mhz consultation closes at the end of the month.