21 September 2007
Ofcom has proposed changes to the radio spectrum bands used by mobile phone operators which could open up the sector to new technology as well as helping to promote competition.
The telecommunications watchdog has announced plans to loosen restrictions on using the area of spectrum currently dedicated to 2G mobiles.
In doing so it hopes to boost 3G coverage in rural areas as well as improving mobile broadband, enabling faster web browsing and lowering costs to the consumer.
Ofcom plans to auction off the freed portion of spectrum, which is currently divided into two tiers, one operating at 900Mhz used by O2 and Vodafone, and another working at 1800Mhz also used by O2 and Vodafone as well as Orange and T-Mobile.
It is believed that Google could bid for this chunk of spectrum in a drive to offer broadband and mobile services to customers following these changes.
The freeing up of the UK's airwaves could allow the Californian-based company to launch its own mobile service or wireless broadband services, it has been reported.
Indeed, the firm is also rumoured to be working on its own mobile phone and mobile payments service.
According to recent Ofcom research, there are nearly 70 million active mobile subscriptions in the UK, with the number of people using mobile internet growing significantly.
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