Continued spectrum clearance in the 800 MHz and 2.6 GHz bands feature highly on Ofcom’s plans for the next 12 months.
In its draft annual plan for the 12 months from April 2013, the UK media and communications regulator said it would also seek to mitigate potential interference issues.
The auction of the spectrum, earmarked for 4G telephony and broadband services, will take place in January 2013 and represents an additional 250 MHz of spectrum compared to the 333 MHz in use today.
The proposal is a continuation of work begun in the current year with Ofcom also continuing work on improving the ease of consumer switching between operators.
Superfast broadband is now available in 65% of homes, according to the regulator this is largely due to BT’s ongoing fibre-to-the-cabinet rollout. At the end of March 2012 there were 1.4 million UK superfast broadband connections; 6.6% of all connections.
Tablet ownership rose to 11% of UK households, up 9 percentage points year on year, and already now stands at 19% whereas connected TV ownership stands at 5% of TV homes.
Licence renewal will also take place for Channel 3 (ITV), 4, and 5.
