Three is unhappy with Ofcom’s spectrum trading

UK MOBILE OPERATOR Three has expressed more dismay towards the UK government telecom regulator Ofcom after its announcement of wireless spectrum trading.

Today Ofcom gave the go-ahead for mobile operators to trade wireless spectrum that they own. However Three doesn't think that the trading system is a fair way of apportioning the spectrum.

A spokesman for Three told The INQUIRER, "This move simply allows those who have been gifted access to public spectrum to profit from it, with no benefit for UK taxpayers."

"Ofcom's ambition to deliver faster and more capable services to consumers is best served by a truly competitive allocation of this public asset."

Three has reason to be unhappy as it doesn't own any of the spectrum that can be traded. Rival companies like Vodafone and O2 do own parts of the spectrum, so in Three's eyes they have been given an unfair advantage.

The news comes shortly after we heard about Three's concern over Ofcom's plans to auction the 3G spectrum which it believes are "anti-competitive and potentially unlawful".

Ofcom doesn't agree with Three and said, "By allowing operators to trade their spectrum, Ofcom believes that there will be greater opportunity to use it more efficiently."

The regulations cover the spectrum at 900MHz, 1800MHz and 2100MHz, and are "aimed at giving operators added flexibility," said Ofcom, which has made the trading possible following government direction to do so in December 2010.

Ofcom will be responsible for administration of any trading that happens. It will publish proposed details online, confirm they are acceptable and then issue revised licences.

We spoke to Ofcom which said that there will be no price limits on trades, each trade will aim to be completed in a 42 day period and the trading will be open in the next few weeks.

We've contacted the other three mobile operators in the UK for their thoughts on the Ofcom spectrum trading proposal and will update this story if and when we hear back from them. µ