Member Article

Ofcom give Everything Everywhere the 4G green light

Everything Everywhere, owner of Orange and T-mobile, have been given permission by telecoms regulator Ofcom to launch 4G mobile services.

Ofcom announced at the end of July that newly released bandwidth would be auctioned off in early 2013, however they have said that consumers would be disadvantaged if the sale was delayed.

Everything Everywhere will be able to provide 4G mobile services from 11th September using existing bandwidth services before any other company.

Ofcom announced the decision today. They commented: “ There is no material risk that those benefits will be outweighed by a distortion of competition.

“Delaying doing so would therefore be to the detriment of consumers.that the benefits to consumers outweighed concerns of competition in the market.”

Additional broadband width will be made available early next year, which will be auctioned off to other network providers. The equivalent of three quarters of the current mobile spectrum will be made available in the 4G auction, with the release of additional spectrum in the 800 MHz amd 2.6 GHz.

These services will allow the next generation of mobile broadband services to be much more efficient by using increased broadband width.

The Orange and T-mobile operators said: “Ofcom’s decision to make 4G available this year is great news for the UK. Consumers will soon be able to benefit from the much greater mobile speeds that 4G will deliver.

“4G will drive investment, employment and innovation and we look forward to making it available later this year, delivering superfast mobile broadband to the UK.”

As the UK’s largest communications company, Everything Everywhere will be a step ahead of other providers, who will gain access to improved internet service next year.

The auction will see the biggest UK sale of spectrum for mobile services ever, with 80% more available than the 3G auction in 2000. Everything Everywhere plan to make 4G available to consumers later in 2012.

Ofcom’s decision has been welcomed by industry experts who say the change should have come sooner.

Dan Wagner, CEO of credit card payments firm mPowa said: “ The introduction of 4G in the UK is long overdue…his will really enhance competitiveness in this ‘always on, always connected’ business landscape and will help companies offer much more comprehensive mobile services that are quicker and more flexible.“

“Today’s consumers want faster and more convenient ways of interacting with businesses and paying for products. Faster, more robust connectivity will take this forward massively.”

This was posted in Bdaily's Members' News section by Miranda Dobson .