Ofcom will auction off more 4G spectrum next year

4G coverage in the UK may be expanding all the time, with networks trying cover as many people as possible, but Ofcom isn’t planning on leaving that expansion solely up to them. Instead the regulator is going to auction off more 4G spectrum.

The auction will take place sometime next year, giving mobile networks the opportunity to expand their 4G networks into high capacity spectrums. More capacity means better download speeds, which is always a good thing. It’s also expected to raise between £50 and £70 million for the government.

The spectrums in question are 2.3GHz and 3.4GHz frequencies. The former is already compatible with most handsets already, while the latter is primarily used by wireless broadband provider Relish.

Ofcom says that once the auction takes place it will limit each network’s share of each spectrum, allowing them a maximum of 37 per cent to keep things fair and give the smaller networks some chance to achieve parity with the competition.