Qualcomm has won the UK auction for spectrum in the 1452-1492 MHz band, with a wining bid of £8,334,000. The spectrum band is known as L-Band, and is awarded on a technology neutral basis.
Ofcom's fifth auction of radio spectrum is part of a wider programme to release spectrum for a range of uses. Other future awards include spectrum at 2.6GHz and the spectrum that will be released through the switchover to digital television – known as the digital dividend.
The auction was held online from the 6 May 2008 to the 14 May 2008. Qualcomm UK Spectrum Ltd will be able to use its licence with immediate effect.
The spectrum has been released on a technology and service neutral basis, allowing the user the flexibility to decide what technology to use, what services to offer and to change their use of the spectrum over time. The licence issued is tradable.
Qualcomm said it would use the frequency to “Develop, Test and Explore Innovative Wireless Services and Technologies”.
"Winning this license creates an opportunity for Qualcomm to explore emerging business models and advanced mobile technologies," said John Caterer, managing director, UK, Qualcomm Europe, Inc. "If we can help the market to harness this potential, we will see additional opportunities for service providers using a variety of technologies. This will ultimately benefit consumers, offering them high quality services and a range of creative applications."
Qualcomm's final tabled bid, after 33 rounds of bidding was in fact £18.6 million, but the company only paid £8.3 million for the license because the bidding system works on a secondary bid basis – whereby the winning company only pays as much as the second highest combination of bids.
Other bidders were Adolphus, Arqiva, ePortal Holding K.S.C., MLL Telecom, The Joint Radio Company, Vectone Network, and WorldSpace UK.
Of these bidders, ePortal dropped out after 19 rounds with a top bid of £3.3. Worldspace bid £2.6 million after 32 rounds and Vectone dropped out after 19 rounds having bid £2.3 million.