UK mobile operators pay close to £1.4bn for 5G spectrum

worldtraveller

The UKs biggest mobile operators have smashed expectations by spending almost £1.4bn in the race to secure spectrum to launch next-generation 5G services.

BT-owned EE, Vodafone, O2 and Three have paid close to double what many City analysts had expected Ofcoms auction to raise, as the mobile operators seek to open up a world of internet-connected world of driverless cars, smart home appliances, delivery drones and superfast video on the go.

The Guardian

d123

Three has been a bit of a disappointment again, o2 did well from the auction though.

EE: 40MHz of 3400MHz

Three: 0MHz of 2300MHz, 20MHz of 3400MHz

o2: 40MHz of 2300MHz, 40MHz of 3400MHz

Vodafone: 50Mhz of 3400MHz

[Deleted User]

d123 wrote: »

Three has been a bit of a disappointment again, o2 did well from the auction though.

EE: 40MHz of 3400MHz

Three: 0MHz of 2300MHz, 20MHz of 3400MHz

o2: 40MHz of 2300MHz, 40MHz of 3400MHz

Vodafone: 50Mhz of 3400MHz

What does that even mean?

worldtraveller

Deleted_User wrote: »

What does that even mean?

Hopefully THIS site should help answer your question and others.

Frozen_up_north

d123 wrote: »

Three has been a bit of a disappointment again, o2 did well from the auction though.

EE: 40MHz of 3400MHz

Three: 0MHz of 2300MHz, 20MHz of 3400MHz

o2: 40MHz of 2300MHz, 40MHz of 3400MHz

Vodafone: 50Mhz of 3400MHz

According to The Guardian today, Three has already secured 40 MHz of 5G spectrum prior to the auction. Maybe Three will not be an also ran...

d123

Frozen_up_north wrote: »

According to The Guardian today, Three has already secured 40 MHz of 5G spectrum prior to the auction. Maybe Three will not be an also ran...

Yes, they have 40MHz existing of B42 3400MHz from their purchase of UK Broadband, my comment was related to the fact they allowed o2 to buy all the immediately deplorable spectrum available (the 2300MHz). The 3400MHz is future usable (2020?) whilst o2 can start deploying their additional 2300 spectrum as soon as the ink is dry in the contract.

d123

The OFCOM announcement:

Ofcom has announced the outcome of the principal stage of its auction to release airwaves for 4G mobile and future 5G services.

We have been running an auction of airwaves or spectrum in two frequency bands:

2.3 GHz, which is usable by current mobile phones and will help improve 4G capacity for todays mobile users; and

3.4 GHz, which is one of the spectrum bands earmarked for 5G, the next generation of mobile technology.

Ofcom has duties to promote competition and manage the use of spectrum efficiently, and the auction has been designed to achieve this.

Five companies are taking part in the auction. The principal stage, which has just ended, involved 34 lots of spectrum being made available across the two bands.

Ofcom has today confirmed the amount of spectrum won in the principal stage by each company.

Results of the principal stage

Airspan Spectrum Holdings Limited has not won spectrum in either band.

EE Limited has won 40 MHz of 3.4 GHz spectrum at a cost of £302,592,000.

Hutchison 3G UK Limited has won 20 MHz of 3.4 GHz spectrum at a cost of £151,296,000.

Telefonica UK Limited has won all 40 MHz of 2.3 GHz spectrum available, at a cost of £205,896,000; and 40 MHz of 3.4 GHz spectrum at a cost of £317,720,000.

Vodafone Limited has won 50 MHz of 3.4 GHz spectrum at a cost of £378,240,000.

The total value of the principal stage is £1,355,744,000, with all money raised from the auction to be paid to HM Treasury.

https://www.ofcom.org.uk/about-ofcom/latest/features-and-news/results-auction-mobile-airwaves