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Monday, November 10, 2014

Ofcom moves closer to the next UK radio spectrum auction

Communications regulator Ofcom has invited potential bidders to comment on its proposals to auction spectrum in the 2.3GHz and 3.4GHz bands. This auction is expected to take place in around 12 to 18 months’ time, raising in excess of £50 million.

The radio spectrum is thought to be of particular interest to the mobile industry. A number of countries outside Europe - including China, India and Australia - have licensed the 2.3GHz frequency band for high-speed 4G mobile broadband networks, while the 3.4 GHz band is currently being used for 4G wireless broadband in six countries including the UK.

UK Broadband Limited uses the 3.4GHz spectrum in London for its ‘Relish’ mobile broadband service.

Ofcom intends to auction a total of 190MHz of spectrum in the two bands, which is the equivalent of around three-quarters of the 4G auction last year. The spectrum is currently used by the Ministry of Defence but is being freed up for civil use.

In addition, Ofcom plans to introduce a ‘safeguard cap’ that would prevent any mobile operator from holding more than 37% of relevant spectrum.

Philip Marnick, Ofcom Spectrum Group Director, said “Today marks an important step in ensuring that the UK has sufficient spectrum to support our wireless economy. It comes in response to the fast pace of change and innovation taking place in the communications sector, which is placing increased demands on how spectrum is used by all industries. One important way of meeting this demand is making new spectrum available and its use as flexible as possible.”

Responses to the consultation are required by 23rd January 2015. It follows an initial consultation last year.

[Ofcom proposals]

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Opinion Articles

Review: BeeWi BBS020 solar-powered hands-free Bluetooth car kit

Mark Bridge writes:

Persuading mobile phone users not to hold their phone when they’re driving should be a simple task. It’s dangerous, it’s against the law and the penalties include a fine plus points on your licence.

But even then, there’s often an excuse about convenience and usability. Some people don’t like wearing headsets, some don’t like wires and some simply forget to charge the batteries.

That’s why a new hands-free Bluetooth loudspeaker from French company BeeWi caught my eye.

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The simple case of the disguised iPhone 4

Mark Bridge writes:

I remember the launch of Carweek back in the 1990s. It was a motoring magazine produced as a weekly glossy newspaper; a novel format, although one that probably led to its demise. 'Spy shots' of prototype cars seemed then – as now – to be much sought-after, despite them often not showing much resemblance to the finished product. Indeed, I often wondered how you could possibly road-test the handling of a new car when it was covered with unflattering body parts that served to disguise its shape.

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Maria Sharapova and the 'geek porn' of unboxing

Mark Bridge writes:

'Unboxing' is - or was - the new geek porn. We know this because The Register told us so in 2006, when the practice of video recording the unpacking of new consumer electronics products started to become popular. Just over two years later The Independent tried to tell us that unboxing was still the new geek porn but, by then, conventional porn had probably returned to... er... pole position.

Why do I mention this?  Well, Sony Ericsson has just published its own unboxing video featuring tennis player, model, charity worker and Sony Ericsson brand ambassador Maria Sharapova.

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Scaremongering news stories? There's an app for that

Mark Bridge writes:

Here’s a news headline that caught my eye.

Shotgun certificate up for renewal?  There's an app for that

Or, if you prefer…

Police to allow gun users renew licences with iPhone app

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Mobile payments: solutions get dumber while cards get smarter?

Mark Bridge writes:

Last week I spotted a couple of mobile-related news stories that involved payment company MasterCard. One came from CPI Card Group, which had introduced a “next-generation, MasterCard-approved payment tag” (a.k.a. 'sticker') that enabled “any mobile device to be used to make payments anywhere using the worldwide contactless MasterCard PayPass standard” (by sticking it on the back).

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