O2 warns Ofcom on airwaves sell-off rules

Britain could fall further behind with the construction of high-speed mobile broadband networks after O2 claimed that a planned airwaves sell-off would breach state aid rules.

O2, the UK’s second-largest mobile operator by customer number, also claimed regulators could unlawfully discriminate against the company if they proceeded with proposed rules for a radio spectrum auction due early next year. O2 called on Ofcom, the telecoms watchdog, to revise its rules or risk seeing the auction delayed. Consumers and businesses in several industrialized countries, including the US and Japan, are already enjoying the benefits of mobile networks based on fourth generation wireless technology that enables fast web-surfing on smartphones. The prime reason for the UK’s late adoption of 4G networks is a bitter dispute between mobile operators over their spectrum holdings.