Ofcom has set a reserve price for the forthcoming 4G auction, with the communication watchdog placing a modest £1.3 billion bounty on the two frequencies up for grabs.
Now before you launch into a rant about how £1.3 billion is by no means modest, we are comparing this to the staggering £22.5 billion the likes of O2, Orange and Vodafone splashed out in 2000 for the coveted 3G spectrum.
Back in July, Ofcom released a statement stating that the auction of the 800MHz and 2.6GHz frequencies would take place in early 2013, but the regulatory committee is now preparing to accept network applications with a provisional deadline of December 11.
Stop mocking me
To get us geared up for a frenzied bidding war Ofcom will be holding a seminar on the auction rules before the deadline, followed by mock auctions on the weeks commencing November 26 and December 3 – let's hope the real thing is televised, as that'll be a riveting watch…
The official deadline date and time will be revealed once the auction regulations have come into effect on November 23, so we'll hopefully get a better idea of when the actual auction will take place.
This is good news for the likes of O2, Three and Vodafone, who were more than a little miffed when EE (parent company of T-Mobile and Orange) was allowed to launch its 4G network ahead of the game last month.
