MP’s Want Mobile Operators to Get on with It

A committee of UK MPs is urging mobile operators to stop fighting over how to share out the airwaves that will deliver next-generation services and get on with it.

The switch-over to digital TV has been key to providing the much-needed bandwidth for data services following the exponential rise of smartphones.  The result freed up a spectrum of airwaves that are now being fought over by the top mobile operators. 

The spectrum being auctioned is particularly valuable because it is low frequency and therefore covers greater distances. Regulator Ofcom hopes to hold the sale mid-2012, meaning that the UK is on track to be one of the last European countries to hold its 4G auction.  

Amidst a complex list of complaints, Ofcom has made clear that it wants Three to remain as a competitor in the UK mobile landscape because it has ensured that consumers get innovative services and low prices.  Therefore, in its proposals for the spectrum auctions the watchdog set mechanisms to ensure that Three got a portion of the 4G spectrum at a minimum price.  This angered O2 and Vodafone who threatened legal action over the floors, claiming they amounted to state-aid for Three.

Three, Vodafone, O2 and Everything, Everywhere are all planning to meet with Ofcom and the Government during the second consultation period in December to try and decide how the auction should work.  

Three Mobile, The Robin Hood of Rural Broadband?

The cynics among us may say that it is a shameless attempt to lobby Westminster for the valuable wireless spectrum.  However, but Mobile operators, Three, claim that their 3G giveaway is for the greater good of rural broadband. 

Three are giving away 3G broadband to rural areas struggling to get fixed line services.  First to benefit will be residents of Gringley-on-the-Hill in North Nottinghamshire who will receive 30 dongles and free data access for a year.  It will also get public WIFI hotspots in the local pub and community centre.  They hope to roll similar packages out to 10 communities across the country in the next twelve months.

In their commitment to isolated communities, Three has formed a working group with the Countryside Alliance and Race Online, the government-backed group that is trying to get more people using the net.

The company has made no secret of their desire to purchase the lower-frequency spectrum which can cover a much wider area and offers better indoor coverage than their current high-frequency spectrum.    

Jeremy Green, analyst with research firm Ovum, remains skeptical of Three’s true motivation. "It is not as if Three is concerned about lack of access. It wants to show off how good its network is and lobby for more spectrum."

What do you think?  Does Three’s motivation truly matter if the digital divide becomes less significant?

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All-you-can-eat Smartphone data tariff

As the nations appetite for the smartphone market grows, mobile operator Three has adopted an all-you-can-eat data plan to encourage sales. 

Living in the fast lane has certainly increased the demand for on the go data.  More and more people use their handsets to connect to the web as well as to make voice calls.  The all-you-can-eat data plan has been designed so that individuals can make the most of their devices.

Three, is one of the smaller mobile operators, but there is a feeling in the industry that this move could force other operators to rethink data limits.

Earlier this year, Mobile operators, including Three, introduced data caps over fears that some users were consuming so much data it was putting unacceptable strain on networks.   The reversal of this decision by Three could put a massive strain on the operators network.