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25|04|06

Provisional award of spectrum licences following auction

Ofcom today announced that 12 companies have been provisionally awarded Wireless Telegraphy Licences for the 1781.7-1785MHz paired with 1876.7-1880MHz bands.

Ofcom expects to grant the licences in the week commencing 1 May 2006, subject to payment of the full licence fees by close of business on 28 April.

The licences are for 6.6MHz of spectrum which will be operated on a low-power basis. Multiple licences were awarded to maximise the alternative uses of the spectrum. The provisional awards are made to the following companies:

• British Telecommunications PLC
• Cable & Wireless UK (England)
• COLT Mobile Telecommunications Ltd
• Cyberpress Ltd
• FMS Solutions Ltd
• Mapesbury Communications Ltd
• O2 (UK) Ltd
• Opal Telecom Ltd
• PLDT (UK) Ltd
• Shyam Telecom UK Ltd
• Spring Mobil AB
• Teleware PLC

The licences are technology neutral but potential applications for these bands include private GSM networks in office buildings or campuses; most mobile phones operate at these frequencies.

The single-round sealed bid auction took place on 20 April 2006 at Ofcom’s offices at Riverside House in London. Ofcom will announce full details of the bids once the licence fees have been paid and the licences granted.

Section 3(2) of the Communications Act 2003 requires Ofcom to secure the optimal use of the spectrum and the availability of a wide range of electronic communication services.

This was the first spectrum auction held by Ofcom. I n July 2005 Ofcom consulted on the auction of this spectrum band. Ofcom received a number of responses and in November it published draft regulations for the award, along with an Information Memorandum.

Ends.

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