UK MPs tell mobile operators to stop delaying 4G auction

UK MOBILE OPERATORS are under fire from a group of UK MPs, who say the companies should stop delaying the spectrum auction that will allow 4G mobile services.

According to the BBC, the Commons Culture, Media and Sport select committee has urged mobile operators to stop delaying the process. The UK is apparently on track to be one of the last European countries to hold its 4G auction.

Last month, The INQUIRER reported that plans to auction off radio spectrum for 4G mobile services had been delayed by telecoms watchdog Ofcom.

The auctions, which Ofcom was due to conduct in early 2012 after a consultation, will now take place at the end of 2012. Ofcom said the arguments in the responses to its consultation had persuaded it to delay the process.

John Whittingdale MP, chair of the committee said, "Ofcom has had a very difficult job adjudicating between competing and polarised interests, and we are concerned that constant disagreement and special pleading from the four mobile network operators appears to have further delayed the spectrum auction."

He added, "We believe that the basic rules for the auction which Ofcom has laid down are sensible and fair, and that further delays will result in the UK falling further behind in this vital area. The auction needs to proceed as soon as possible."

O2 and Vodafone have threatened to take legal action if the auction goes ahead in its current form. Meanwhile, Three has said it could run out of space on its 3G network in urban areas unless the auction happens quickly.

The UK is behind the rest of Europe and the US, which already have 4G - also known as long term evolution (LTE) - available in many regions.

The UK government has promised universal broadband access by the next election, expected in April 2015, and mobile broadband will have to be part of that plan.

All four of the big UK mobile operators will meet with Ofcom and the government this month to try to resolve the problem. µ