MobileManDan
Today Vodafone UK have announced they have added 40Mhz of spectrum in the 3.6Ghz band thanks to their winnings in the recent spectrum auction.
The result which was announced today means the network now has 90Mhz of spectrum to use for 5G services and demand for data going forward.
There was a lot of focus on the so called Low Band spectrum on the 700mhz portion of the auction as this provided better indoor coverage than existing spectrum being used, however with a large chunk of existing 900Mhz, the company confirmed they plan to re-farm this in the future to 5G so was no need to purchase additional low band.
Here is the list of the spectrum holding before and after the auction, what comes next is the negotiations on what portion of the 3.6Ghz each network gets to allow contiguous spectrum for faster speeds.
The full press release can be found below.
— Press Release —
Following an Ofcom auction, the company can now use 40MHz of spectrum in the 3.6GHz band for next-generation 5G services.
Vodafone UK has acquired 40MHz of spectrum in the 3.6GHz band for next-generation 5G mobile services in Ofcom’s auction at a cost of £176.4 million (€205.97 million).
Vodafone now holds 90MHz of 3.4 – 3.6GHz spectrum. The new spectrum acquired will enable Vodafone UK to significantly expand 5G network capacity to meet the growing demand for fast, reliable, high-quality data services.
Ahmed Essam, Chief Executive, Vodafone UK, said: “This auction will boost our 5G network capacity. It means we will have the spectrum we need to further the roll-out of 5G to our customers, bringing high-speed connectivity and opening up new opportunities for products and services.
“We have been successful in the 3.6GHz band and have avoided expenditure on low-band spectrum, where it is our strategy to re-farm over time our significant 900MHz holdings to carry 5G traffic.”
The spectrum acquired has a 20-year licence term through to 2041.
