The UK telecom regulator has today announced a decision to push ahead with the repurposing of the 700MHz band of spectrum for mobile data usage.
The plan, which has been floated and consulted upon since the beginning of 2014, will see the rehoming of some digital terrestrial television (DTT) and PMSE (Programme Makers and Special Events) to a new band in order to make way for the increasing amount of data traffic being demanded by mobile users.
In the long run, Ofcom says using the 700Mhz band will save operators money, which “will bring considerable benefits to citizens and consumers.” However, whether these efficiency savings will be passed on to the consumer remains to be seen.
It’ll stay that way for a while too; Ofcom doesn’t expect to start using the 700Mhz band for live mobile data services until around 2022, which is around when 5G is expected to arrive in the UK.
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➤ Decision to make the 700 MHz band available for mobile data – statement [Ofcom]
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