UK mobile operators pay close to £1.4bn for 5G spectrum.

 Ofcom says the outcome is ‘good news for
everyone who uses their mobile phone
to access the internet’. Photograph: Plume Creative/Getty Images

Ofcom auction beats expectations as EE, Vodafone, O2 and Three splash out to secure bandwidth for super-fast mobile broadband.

The UK’s biggest mobile operators have smashed expectations by spending almost £1.4bn in the race to secure spectrum to launch next-generation 5G services.

BT-owned EE, Vodafone, O2 and Three have paid close to double what many City analysts had expected Ofcom’s auction to raise, as the mobile operators seek to open up a world of internet-connected world of driverless cars, smart home appliances, delivery drones and superfast video on the go.

City analysts had a wide range of predictions on what the auction would net the government – spanning £630m to £1bn – with the attractiveness of 5G services to consumers and mobile operators proving much more valuable.

By Mark Sweney.

Full story at The Guardian.