UK communications regulator Ofcom has taken another significant step on the road to 4G services being fully deployed across the UK.
The long running industry wrangles that have delayed 4G were finally resolved by a government brokered agreement last month.
Ofcom has now published the regulations and timetable that will govern the auction. The regulations set a provisional date for applications of 11 December and target the launch of services in May/June 2013.
The reserve price set on the spectrum is £1.3bn with industry estimates suggesting the total amount raised could be less than a fifth of the £22bn generated by Ofcom’s 3G spectrum auction in 2000.