In May this year, the UK Government is set to auction licences for wireless services that will allow broadband content delivery at speeds of up to 2Mbits/sec, at distances of up to 10km.
It is hoped that these services – which can deliver multimedia content – will help to build the multi-platform ‘broadband Britain’ envisaged by the Government.
As the systems are wireless, telecoms operators can offer broadband connections to regions of the country which are currently unable to receive cable or DSL (digital subscriber line) services, due to restrictions on infrastructure. In such rural areas it has been commercially unacceptable to roll out broadband services as there are too few potential customers.
There are to be 15 of the wireless regional licenses across the UK, using the 3.4 GHz frequency, with one licence in each region. Operators will be allowed to make staged payments, with no obligation for service roll-outs, according to the Radiocommunications Agency.
