“Digital dividend” less valuable in the UK

Following reports that the new UK government will announce the £5 billion-rated auction of the UK’s 800MHz airwaves spectrum, Simon Harris, director, PricewaterhouseCoopers, warned: “The auction of 800MHz spectrum in the UK is vital to the telecoms and broadcasting sectors, and therefore the economy as a whole. This is the prime real estate of the airwaves and will enable the awaited provision of high speed mobile and broadcasting services.
This spectrum is particularly valuable as it enables operators to roll out high-speed networks at the lowest possible cost, and makes rural access to high speed services more realistic.
€4.4 billion was recently raised in Germany, and it is estimated that this spectrum and the 2.6GHz band, also due to be sold off, has a value of some €40 billion across Europe. However, the situation in the UK is more complicated, due to the current uneven distribution of spectrum and the merger of T-Mobile and Orange.
The design of any auction in the UK, and the ability and willingness of new entrants to get involved, will have a significant impact on the funds raised.”
Source: advanced-television.com
Item added: 12th July 2010