Ofcom to open up airwaves for 4G mobile services

UK mobile operators Vodafone and 3 have asked for permission to run 4G mobile services over the airwaves they use for existing mobile services.

Currently EE is the only UK operator that can run 4G services over those parts of the radio spectrum. Telecoms regulator Ofcom has started a public consultation exercise on the proposal that runs until 29 March. Ofcom is currently running an auction to sell off unused airwaves that can support 4G services. The two mobile operators want to be able to pipe futuristic 4G services over parts of the radio spectrum that, on their networks, are reserved for earlier generations of mobile technology. Among other things, 4G promises to improve web browsing speeds while on the move and make a host of other mobile applications much more feasible.