Ofcom Opens Up 2G Spectrum For 3G Services

From today, mobile operators in the United Kingdom will be able to offer 3G services using 2G spectrum, thanks to a move from Ofcom.

The decision by the UK communications regulator should help increase mobile broadband speeds, as well as improve the quality of coverage so that it can be used in more locations, including more rural areas.

The other benefit is that it should allow for the greater penetration of 3G signals indoors.

Improved Mobile Browsing

“This move means that mobile operators that currently have spectrum, which until today was reserved for 2G service use, can now use the same spectrum for 3G services such as mobile Internet browsing,” explained an Ofcom spokesman, speaking to eWEEK Europe UK.

2G spectrum licenses were issued back in the 1990s, with a condition that they could only be used to provide 2G services. Mobile phone operators could previously only use a limited amount of spectrum to deliver 3G services.

“2G spectrum is primarily used for voice and text (SMS) services, whereas 3G is more suited for data services such as  Internet roaming,” said the Ofcom spokesman.

Data Strain

Any move to improve the user experience of using mobile broadband is sure to be welcomed by UK users. The increasing use of smartphones and dongles, as well as more mobile working practices, has led to increasing problems for UK mobile operators, that are struggling to cope with this ‘data strain.‘

Growing user dissatisfaction with dongles for example was highlighted in June last year, when mobile broadband price comparison site Broadband Expert found that there had been a 57 percent drop in the number of people it had helped sign up for mobile broadband in the last twelve months. Moreover, it found that sales had crashed by over 50 percent year-on-year.

It is hoped that the decision by Ofcom to free up more spectrum and effectively add more network capacity, will improve matters.

“Absolutely it is a measure that will help, although it is not a panacea for the capacity issue, but hopefully it should go some way to resolving that,” the Ofcom spokesman told eWEEK Europe UK.

Freeing Up Spectrum

Ofcom has also been seeking other ways to free up valuable spectrum in the UK

In November last year, Ofcom announced a consultation on how a new form of wireless communication called “white space technology” will work in practice. This involves making use the unused white space that is currently lying fallow in the spectrum. These fallow white spaces are typically located between the spectrum frequencies for TV broadcasts, wireless microphones and wireless cameras.

Ofcom also announced in September that it was seeking to raise the limit of 3G broadcasting power, because mobile users in certain areas are still struggling to gain access to a decent 3G signal. If successful, it would mean that mobile operators will be able to throw out a more powerful 3G signal that should in turn provide better coverage and signal strength.

And the regulator is looking to the future with 4G networks.

In November it said that the auction of 4G spectrum would take place in Q1 2012 and will “fuel an explosion” of 4G networks. However some analysts feel that the deployment and roll out of so-called 4G technologies such as WiMax and LTE, will not be economically viable until 2015.