The UK Ministry of Defence (MoD) has confirmed its plans to sell around 200 Megahertz (MHz) of its radio spectrum, in a bid to free up some space for 4G mobile services.
The sale, which is expected to take place in 2014, will provide private operators opportunities to acquire more spectrum to support the launch of 4G mobile services to users in cities, towns and villages across the UK. The spectrum can also be used by fixed-line operators to offer wireless access to broadband services.
UK Defence Equipment, Support and Technology minister Philip Dunne said: "We hope that the sale will help drive the roll-out of new generation networks and universal access to broadband, both of which are vital to the UK’s prosperity."
Nearly 75% of the spectrum owned by the MoD is publicly held, and the part under sale is being cleared of military users, which is currently being deployed for many services including defence, emergency services, transport and science.
In 2010, the UK Government, as part of its Spending Review, revealed that about 500MHz of public spectrum below 5GHz will be set free by 2020 for new mobile communications uses.
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