The telecoms regulator has launched a conference on how most appropriate to sell off the rights to the next era of mobile wireless networks.
The auction of the fourth generation, or 4G, spectrum will be the largest ever, homogeneous to 3 buliding of the mobile spectrum in use today.
The final time an auction was held, for 3G in 2000, it lifted a record 22.5bn is to Treasury.
The auction itself is approaching to beginning in the initial entertain of 2012.
The extra spectrum to be sole off should meant faster speeds for downloading information - such as song and cinema - to phones as more ability is done free for all the networks.
The real tools of the spectrum being sole - at the 800MHz and 2.6GHz bandwidths - will add tools of the wireless spectrum historically used by equivalent term TV, that is being switched off as digital is rolled out.
"The auction is not usually vicious to the future of the UK mobile telecommunications marketplace but it is moreover of poignant significance to the wider economy. It will encouragement a far-reaching operation of information services that are swift apropos necessary features of the modern world," mentioned Ofcom arch senior manager Ed Richards in a statement.
Competition concerns
Smartphones such as the iPhone, Google Android and inscription gadgets are large users of bandwidth, that means there has been a fist on what is left.
Ofcom has even authorised mobile phone carriers similar to Vodafone and O2 to use tools of the aged 2G network until more of the spectrum is done available.
The UK network Three has complained about that, and about its fears is to auction.
The country's smallest mobile phone user is disturbed that its rivals will outbid it at auction, shopping up incomparable slices of the existing bandwidth and muscle action Three out of the marketplace altogether.
The regulator mentioned it would levy a hat on the amount of new airspace companies could win at the auction to try to make sure satisfactory competition.
"The use of spectrum caps is bitterly argumentative given they effectively crush what is instead a marketplace resource written to set aside spectrum to those who worth it most," mentioned Ovum researcher Matthew Howett.
"However, Ofcom is basically stranded between a stone and a hard place. If they were to leave the auction open they chance a player leaving the marketplace and serve consolidation; presumably to the loss of consumers," he added.
Rural coverage
Ofcom mentioned it would make any successful bid limited on a licensee agreeing to expand their coverage to 95% of the UK population.
Ofcom points out that stream mobile coverage, quite 3G coverage, is reduction thorough in farming areas than in city areas.
The regulator mentioned it longed for to make sure more "uniformity of coverage" for 4G services.
Ofcom draft a supplementary responsibility that would meant looseness holders would moreover have to casing a specific suit of the race in farming areas.
3G auction
Ofcom will moreover hope to prevent the mistakes of the final auction in 2000.
Then, the greatest bid for 3G was from Vodafone, that paid 5.96bn.
BT Cellnet - that finally became O2 - paid 4.03bn. Orange paid 4.1bn and One2One paid 4bn.
But most carriers and observers think that operators overpaid for those licences and were not able to deposit in the infrastructure as a outcome of profitable those outrageous fees.
The German supervision lifted 50bn euros ($71bn, 43.6bn) at its 3G auction in 2000, but managed to elevate usually 4.3bn euros at its 4G auction final year.
Already behind?
Japan and the US already have 4G networks - even though these are frequently tangible in somewhat not similar ways by not similar countries.
The greatest mobile phone companies in the US - Verizon Wireless and ATT - back a 4G network powered by Long Term Evolution (LTE) technology.
Verizon launched its LTE network in December, earnest speeds up to 10 times faster than its stream 3G network. It is formulation full national coverage by 2013.
ATT this week paid for T-Mobile USA from Deutsche Telekom for $39bn (24bn), formulating the largest US wireless network.
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