Ofcom, the independent regulator and competition authority for the UK communications industries, has opened up more frequencies, which is expected to enable mobile phone operators to increase mobile broadband speeds, deliver improved in-building coverage and increase mobile broadband coverage in rural areas.
The company said the airwaves used by mobile phone operators for 2G services, such as making phone calls and sending texts, will now be available to provide 3G services, such as mobile Internet browsing.
Previuosly, mobile phone operators could only use a limited amount of spectrum – the airwaves that mobile phones and other wireless devices use to communicate – to deliver 3G.
The company said the remainder of this new spectrum was licensed in the 1990s with a condition that it could only be used for 2G services for voice calls and text messages.
Ofcom claims that this spectrum can be used in the future to meet the demand from smartphone devices and for 3G services.
