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Friday, January 24, 2014

GSMA warns that Ofcom's proposed licence fee increase threatens 4G roll-out in the UK

Ofcom’s proposal to increase annual licence fees for the 900MHz and 1800MHz spectrum bands in the UK could adversely affect investment in the UK’s 4G services, according to the GSMA.

A consultation into the proposed increases ended on 16th January, with an Ofcom decision expected in the next few weeks. Ofcom wants Vodafone and O2 to each pay an extra £67.5 million per year for access to the airwaves. EE would be asked for an extra £82.2 million and Three for an extra £27.4 million. It says these changes reflect the full market value of the spectrum licences.

Tom Phillips, Chief Regulatory Officer of the GSMA, said “The GSMA is concerned that Ofcom’s proposal to more than quadruple annual licence fees – from £24.8 million to £138.5 million for the 900MHz band and from £39.7 million to £170.4 million for the 1800MHz – will jeopardise mobile operators’ ability to upgrade their networks for 4G services in the UK. According to a recent report by the GSMA, Europe is lagging significantly behind the US in terms of deployment of next-generation wireless infrastructure. 4G represented 19% of US connections compared to less than two per cent in the EU at the end of 2013. However, improvement in 4G deployment can only be realised with long-term investment from the industry. Any lag in 4G roll-out could potentially put UK businesses at an international disadvantage and deny consumers access to the latest mobile services.”

An announcement from Ofcom is expected in the next few weeks.

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Opinion Articles

Last week at The Fonecast: 24th March 2014

The new iPhone no-one was expecting

Mark Bridge writes:

New Apple products! New Android smart watches!

You’d be forgiven for not having noticed either of those news stories last week. Apple did indeed announce a new iPhone – but it was simply a new iPhone 5c with just 8MB of memory.

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LTE fuels the race for the fastest network

Noam Green of Flash Networks writes:

The introduction and deployment of LTE networks offers real promise for both subscribers and operators worldwide. It brings the potential for revolutionary improvements in quality of experience for mobile broadband, and even faster downloads and video streaming.

Author: The Fonecast
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Last week at The Fonecast: 10th March 2014

Bye-bye Barcelona, hello Hanover

Mark Bridge writes:

As one show closes, so another show opens.

It’s now more than a week since we bid a sad farewell to Mobile World Congress 2014 – I imagine hotel rooms for 2nd to 5th March 2015 are already being booked – but there’s now CeBIT in Germany to look forward to. Prime Minister David Cameron kicked things off last night with a speech that talked about UK-German partnerships, more funding for research around the ‘Internet of Things’ and the development of 5G technology.

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WiFi technology, problems and solutions

explained by Professor Andrew Nix from the University of Bristol

In this presentation, which was originally given as part of the ‘Multimedia Content Delivery onto Mobile Platforms’ session at Mobile World Congress 2014, Professor Andrew Nix from the University of Bristol explains many of the often-forgotten truths about WiFi service.

If you’re an IT manager, working in a mobile phone shop, looking at tech product design or simply want to get the most from your mobile phone, Professor Nix has plenty of practical advice in this 20-minute video clip.

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Key themes from Mobile World Congress 2014

by Andrew Skinner, Relationship Director of the Technology, Media & Telecoms team at Barclays

The GSMA reported that 85,000 visitors attended Mobile World Congress this year, breaking all previous records for the show.

Andrew Skinner, Relationship Director of the Technology, Media & Telecoms team at Barclays, reflects on his time in Barcelona and some of the key themes to come out of this year’s show.

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